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THE    STORY   OF    BRITISH    MUSIC 


THE    STORY 


OF 


BRITISH    MUSIC 


(FROM  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  THE 
TUDOR  PERIOD) 


BY 


Frederick  J.    Crowest    ^ 

AUTHOR  OF 
'  THE  GREAT  TONE  POETS,'  '  MUSICAL  ANECDOTES,' 
ETC. 


LONDON 
RICHARD      BENTLEY     AND     SON 

#ublishrvss  in  ©rbinarn  to  tytx  ^ajcstj) 
1896 

\All  rights  reserved  \ 


PREFACE. 


This  is  an  attempt  to  tell  the  story  of  British  music. 
Wide  and  comprehensive  as  the  scope  of  English 
literature  undoubtedly  is,  we  have  hitherto  been 
without  a  book  dealing  specifically  with  the  birth  and 
growth  of  English  music.  Histories  of  music  almost 
rival  the  planets  in  number,  but  they  are  for  the 
most  part  singularly  unlike  the  heavenly  bodies  in 
the  light  they  throw  upon  that  aspect  of  the  divine 
art  concerning  which  every  Briton  would  naturally 
desire  information — namely,  the  history  of  the  music 
of  his  own  country.  I  know  of  no  work  which  deals 
at  all  adequately  with  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
art  as  found  and  practised  in  England,  the  nearest 
attempt  at  anything  of  the  kind  being  the  late  Sir 
Frederick  A.  Gore  Ouseley's  brief,  and  necessary, 
additions  to  Naumann's  '  History  of  Music.'  Yet  the 
subject  of  England's  music  deserves  ample  treatment. 
To  remedy  such  a  state  of  things,  I  several  years 
back  devoted  my  attention  to  the  present  work, 
the  first  instalment  of  which  is  now  given  to  the 
public.  I  have  not  attempted  a  learned  book,  but 
one  which  will,  I  hope,  possess  interest  not  alone  for 


vi  PRE  FA  CE 


the  many  thousands  of  students  and  workers  who 
are  musical,  but  also  for  that  far  larger  section  of 
general  readers  who  profess  to  know  nothing  of 
music.  My  aim  throughout  has  been  to  tell  a  con- 
nected, simple  story,  free  from  technicalities,  so  that 
all  who  will  may  read  and  learn  something  concern- 
ing the  glorious  past,  and  the  excellent  present 
status  and  promise,  of  musical  England. 

I  must,  I  fear,  confess  that  the  ground  covered  by 
the  present  volume,  while  being  the  most  sterile  in 
material  and  facts,  is  also — and  I  am  fully  sensible 
of  it — the  least  interesting  period  over  which  my 
narrative  will  extend.  But  better  things  are  in  store, 
and  the  good  wine  will  be  kept  until  the  last.  My 
next  volume  will  take  us  into  that  genial  region, 
the  Elizabethan  period,  wherein  native  musical 
art  burst  into  its  fullest  glory.  Then  comes  the 
Victorian  era,  during  which  so  much  has  been 
accomplished  for  music  in  this  country  by  our 
gracious  Sovereign  and  her  Royal  Consort,  the  late 
Prince  Albert,  as  well  as  by  other  members  of  the 
Royal  Family.  All  this  must  be  told  ere  our  story 
is  complete  ;  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  any 
suggestions  and  information  from  those  interested  in 
this  national  matter  which  will  tend  in  any  way  to 
the  better  interest  or  telling  of  the  narrative. 

The  Author. 

24,  Ampthill  Square, 
London,  N.W., 

December,  1895. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  I 

I.    EARLY    BRITISH    AND    ROMAN    MUSIC      -                 -                 -  I  I 

II.    SAXON    MUSICAL    INFLUENCE      -  -  -  '37 

III.  BARDS,    BARDISM,    AND    SCALDS                  -                 -                 "  72 

IV.  AUGUSTINE    AND    HIS    MUSICAL    WORK   -  -  '97 
V.    SAXON    MUSICAL    ECCLESIASTICS  TO  THE   INVENTION    OF 

NOTATION      -                 -                 -                  -                 -                 -  Il8 

VI.    LATE   SAXON    AND    EARLY    NORMAN    MUSIC          -                 -  1 58 

VII.    MINSTRELSY    FROM    NORMAN    TO    LANCASTRIAN    TIMES  -  1 95 
VIII.    FIRST       POLYPHONY,       OR       PART  -  WRITING  :       MUSICAL 

GRAMMAR    AND   AUTHORSHIP                 -                 -                 -  264 

IX.    SECOND    PERIOD    ENGLISH  SCHOOL  TO  TUDOR  TIMES      -  318 

INDEX  -------  387 


THE 

STORY    OF    BRITISH    MUSIC 

INTRODUCTION. 

Britain's  first  musical  breathings  !  Dear  must  such 
be  to  all  who  love  Old  England  ;  for  in  these  earliest 
Pre  artistic  symptoms  lie  the  germs  of  much  of 
historic.  tnat  happiness  that  pervades  every  home, 
whether  palace  or  cot,  in  the  land  to-day,  where  cul- 
tivated music  is  a  factor  in  the  round  of  daily  life. 
And  what  circle  is  now  without  its  music  ? 

The  story  of  musical  England  cannot  be  soon 
told  ;  nor  for  a  while  can  it  pretend  to  be  a  narrative 
of  facts,  since  so  much  that  we  should  all  like  to  know 
has  become  lost  in  the  mist  and  haze  of  the  past.  It 
is  not  until  we  reach  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and 
fifteenth  centuries  that  we  become  possessed  of  data 
concerning  music  and  musicians  which  can  be  posi- 
tively proved,  and  therefore  depended  upon.  Even 
then  the  information  is  frequently  most  scanty.  It 
will  be  easily  understood,  consequently,  how  difficult 

i 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


it  is  to  provide  a  thoroughly  connected  narrative 
until  that  period  is  reached.  The  reader  should  be 
informed,  too,  at  the  outset,  that  it  will  be  to  sacred 
rather  than  to  secular  sources  that  we  must  have 
recourse  for  much  of  our  story  at  first.  At  times  he 
will  seem  to  be  reading  merely  an  account  of  Church 
music  in  England  ;  but  he  must  not  be  discouraged. 
It  is  to  the  Church  that  we  are  bound  to  go  for  the 
first  regular  and  systematic  employment  of  the  art 
in  this  country.  The  religious  services  often  kept 
the  art  alive  when  everything  relating  to  secular 
matters  was  in  a  condition  of  disturbance  which 
must  have  made  men  despair.  Occasionally  we  get 
glimpses  of  secular  art  and  practice ;  but  on  the 
whole,  it  was  sacred  rather  than  secular  music  that 
rarely  waned,  and  which  furnished  the  backbone  of 
the  art  in  its  far-off  infancv  which  we  have  to  trace. 

For  the  first  melody  and  the  earliest  harmony 
which  sprang  from  the  soil  on  which  the  future 
homesteads  of  our  fair  land  were  to  stand,  we  must 
look  back  through  the  ages  to  that  period  when 
Europe  was  peopled  only  here  and  there,  to  a  time 
long  and  long  before  that  when  St.  Paul  is  said  to 
have  looked  into  the  very  eyes  of  Linus  and  Claudia, 
the  children  of  Caractacus,  the  British  chief.  Then 
Albion  shared  the  conditions  of  other  isolated  spots 
in  the  slowly-waking  Western  world,  when  men 
beat  at  the  doors  of  Nature  with  sharp  flints.  The 
Stone  and  Flint  Age  produced  means,  no  doubt,  of 


INTRODUCTION 


making  sounds  from  objects  of  stone  ;  but  it  is 
remarkable  that  scarcely  a  single  article  of  this  kind 
exists. 

The  fragment  here  illustrated  was  found  among 
some  flint  implements  at  Reading,  and 
may  have  been  used  as  a  whistle.  It 
is  a  small  oval  stone,  not  manufac- 
tured, but  more  probably  a  sponge 
petrifaction  ;  and,  the  centre  of  the 
sponge  being  absent,  a  clean  hole  is 
left  which  emits  a  loud  whistle  on  flint  whistle. 
being  blown  into,  as  into  the  hole  of  a  key. 

At  this  earliest  stage  the  music  of  our  country  was 
the  carollings  of  birds,  the  monotone  of  bees,  the 
fluttering  of  the  leaves,  and  the  chirpings  from  the 
night  insects.  Sometimes  it  was  the  rush,  at  others, 
the  ripple,  of  waters  that  have  since  swollen  into  our 
pleasant  rivers.  Then  the  groan  of  the  wild  ox  and 
the  wolf's  cry  clave  the  air  ;  while  here  and  there 
rose  the  human  voice  of  gifted  savages,  vehement 
with  the  emotions  of  the  giant  frames  which  emitted 
it.  We  can  but  surmise  how  such  aborigines  would 
proceed — musically.  Like  all  primitive  beings,  they 
would  clap  with  the  hands,  shout  and  wail,  whistle 
with  hands  and  mouth,  imitate  the  sounds  of  beasts 
and  birds,  construct,  and  then  amuse  themselves 
with  instruments  of  percussion  of  the  coarsest  kind, 
invent  a  reed  or  pipe  with  a  blowing  hole,  turn  the 
cattle-horns   into   signal   trumpets,   perchance   make 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


something  approaching  a  drum,  flourish  a  stick  of 
bits  of  metal,  and  otherwise  satisfy  their  cravings 
after  varied  sounds  and  many  jinglings.  For  centuries 
such  music  rose  in  early  Albion.  It  seems  to  have 
been  all  swept  away  in  the  tremendous  deluge  which 
overtook  the  country  before  the  historic  period,  when 
men  and  animals  were  drowned  out,  never  to  be 
succeeded  here  by  the  like  again,  in  that  great  con- 
vulsion before  which  beautiful  spots  like  Wells  and 
Glastonbury  were  being  washed  by  the  sea-surf. 

With  the  spreading  westwards  of  the  races  which 
were  to  be  the  forefathers  of  the  Celt,  Teuton,  and 
Cymry,  a  faint  musical  clue  seems  to  present  itself. 
These  wanderers  were  from  the  East,  and  came 
pushing  in  a  north-westerly  direction,  fated  to  leaven 
musically,  as  well  as  socially,  the  Western  continent 
and  this  land  of  ours.  Their  home  was  Persia,  India, 
and  Arabia.  They  might  leave  their  native  plains 
and  hills  behind  them,  but  the  songs  of  their  youth 
and  the  lays  of  their  land  would  cling  to  them  with 
irresistible  force  wherever  they  pitched  their  camp. 
These  germs  of  Oriental  art  drifted  into  Europe,  and 
no  doubt  influenced  the  music  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Albion.  The  native's  drum,  the  rude  pipe,  and  the 
coarse  vocal  soundings  which  may  have  been  here, 
commingled  with  whatever  musical  elements  the 
Aryan  emigrants  brought  with  them.  The  lyre  was 
an  introduction.  It  was  invented  ages  and  ages  ago 
in  the  art  nursery  of  Central  Asia.     The  Tartars,  the 


INTRODUCTION 


MOST  ANCIENT   FORM    OF 
IRISH   HARP. 


troubadours  of  the  East,  brought 
it  westward.  In  the  lapse  of 
years  it  reached  this  country, 
and  became  an  instrument  for 
the  ancient  Britons,  and  the 
parent  of  subsequent  instru- 
ments struck  by  a  hammer. 
Another  Eastern-world  instru- 
ment was  the  lute — the  fore- 
runner of  instruments  whose 
strings  are  plucked  by  the 
fingers,  which,  in  its  turn, 
grew  into  the  harp.  This  also 
found  its  way  into  Britain — 
when,  no  one  really  knows. 
Bardic  traditions  say  it  was 
taken  into  Ireland  by  Heber 
and  Heremon,  the  first  princes 
of  the  Milesian  race  in  Ireland, 
about  the  year  iooo  b.c.  The 
most  early  specimens  of  ancient 
British  harps  that  have  been 
found,  of  which  we  give  some 
drawings,  were  strung  with 
brass,  with  the  exception  of 
some  of  the  extreme  upper 
notes,  which  were  of  metal,  like 
pianoforte  wires.  The  number 
of    these    strings    varied    from     the  clairsrach  (irish). 


THE  CRUIT   (IRISH). 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


CELTIC    WHISTLE. 


fifty-four  to  sixty,  but  a  few  cords  probably  sufficed 
for  the  earliest  instruments. 

Antiquaries  and  collectors  occasionally  find  a 
fragment  which  seems  to  throw  light  upon  these 
far-off  periods   to   which   we   would   fain   trace  our 

musical   genesis ;   but   the  evi- 

musical  proofs  are  scanty  in- 
deed. The  accompanying 
sketch  represents  what  would  seem  to  be  a  Celtic 
whistle.  It  is  made  of  bone,  and  is  stored  in 
the  Dorset  County  Museum,  near  which  it  was 
found. 

Reaching  the  Bronze  Period,  we  meet  with  horns 
of  brass,  such  as  are  to  be  seen  in  the  British 
Museum  and  other  collections.  These  horns  are  of 
semicircular  shape,  moulded  after  the  fashion  of  the 
horns  of  oxen  and  other  animals.  Covered  as 
Britain  was  with  woods  and  forests,  the  goat  and 
ox  horn  would  be  plentiful  enough.  It  could  be 
turned  into  a  variety  of  uses,  indoors  and  out. 
Thus,  there  were  banquet-horns,  horns  for  the  chase 
(which  could  be  used  for  both  sounding  and  drinking 
purposes),  and  war-horns.  These  latter  gave  out 
the  note  of  alarm,  or  summoned  the  tribes  together 
against  the  common  enemy.  The  animal's  horn 
was  undoubtedly  among  the  earliest  instrumental 
possessions  of  primeval  Britain.  Its  telling  tone 
would  render  it  singularly  valuable  as  a  '  call ';  and, 


IXTRODCCTIOX 


doubtless,  it  was  an  instrument  common  to  the  tribes 
of  our  country.  The  lost  huntsman  in  the  forest 
could  indicate  his  whereabouts  by  its  sound  ;  while 
it  would  be  serviceable  indeed  to  the  chief,  erect 
before  his  height-fires,  rallying  his  followers  around 
him. 

Druids,  and  Druidism  their  teaching  (a  modified 
form  of  the  Iberian  religion  which  preceded  it  in 
Britain),  constituted  the  first  national  schoolmaster, 
The  and  much  that  was  cultured  and  elevating 
Druids,  foad  its  origin  in  this  source.  Caius,  the 
historian,  believed  that  the  order  originated  in  Britain 
as  early  as  1013  B.C.,  continuing  till  179  a.d.  Be- 
longing to  it  were  priests,  bards,  and  ovates,  robed 
in  white,  blue,  and  green  respectively.  Amid  the 
ritual  of  the  Druidical  service,  plaints  and  chants — 
familiar  probably  to  the  whole  body  of  assembled 
worshippers — blended  with  the  sacrificial  fires  and 
aromas  as  these  lifted  to  the  sun  and  moon,  or  to 
such  gods  as  Ofydd.  Mapon,  Camulus,  Ludd,  and 
Brigantia,  which  deities  the  Britons  worshipped. 
Tradition  for  the  most  part  pictures  the  religious 
assemblies  of  the  Druids,  with  the  chiefs  and  tribes 
supporting  them,  as  gatherings  of  magnitude  and 
rude  splendour.  The  excited  women,  dressed  in 
black,  with  long  loose  hair,  and  brandishing  torches, 
were  a  startling  feature.  We  can  imagine  the  vocal 
outpourings  to  have  been  grand  and  solemn  melodies, 
teeming  with  intensity  and  variety  of  acute  intonation 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


peculiar  to  the  melodies  born  of  the  natural  ear, 
and  satisfying  its  requirements,  as  the  British  tunes 
did.  If  the  great  storehouse  of  the  past  could  but 
reveal  its  treasures,  we  might  expect  these  sacri- 
ficial songs  which  our  progenitors  sang  to  their 
1  unknown  god  '  to  be  Laments,  not  unlike  such 
plaints  as  the  Maneros  (which  the  Egyptians  per- 
formed at  their  funerals),  the  Linos  of  the  Greeks, 
or  the  ancient  Chinese  melody  in  praise  of  the  dead, 
limited  to  a  compass  to  suit  men  and  women,  old 


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CHINESB   TUNE   SUNG    IN    PRAISE   OF   THE   DEAD, 

With  F,  the  Chinese  patriarch  of  all  tunes,  forming  the  beginning,  middle, 

and  end  of  the  melody. 

and  young  alike.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
antiquity  of  the  Druids,  it  was  through  them  and 
their  bardic  orders  that  the  musical  continuity  of 
this  country  was  maintained. 

That  there  was  a  native  music  here — probably  to 
the  extent  of  being  an  established  system— long- 
before  the  invasion  of  Julius  Caesar,  is  certain. 
The  land  itself  (Britain),  some  lovingly  say,  takes 
its  name  from  Prydain,  son  of  Aedd  Mawr,  one  of 


INTRODUCTION 


the  most  distinguished   characters  of  whom  bardic 
memorials  are  preserved. 

Prydain's  son  was  Dyfnwal,  in  whose  day  recogni- 
tion was  made  of  three  primeval  bards  of  Britain. 
These  were  Plennyd,  Alawn,  and  Gwron,  called,  in 
one  copy  of  the  Triads,  the  three  Primitive  Insti- 
tutional bards.  Plennyd  enjoys  the  reputation  of 
being  bard — i.e.,  singer  or  narratory  chanter — to 
King  Brutus,  who  is  said  to  have  obtained  sove- 
reignty of  Britain  as  far  back  as  1149  b.c. 

Wace,  the  author  of  '  Le  Brut  d'Angleterre,'  a 
metrical  account  of  Brutus,  the  pretended  founder  of 
the  British  nation,  represents  Gabbet,  one  of  the 
kings,  as  the  most  able  musician  of  his  time — one  who 

'  Every  instrument  could  play, 
And  in  sweetest  manner  sing, 
Chanting  forth  each  kind  of  lay 
To  the  sound  of  harp  and  string.' 

The  skill  of  the  British  monarch  as  an  instru- 
mental performer  is  set  out  in  the  following  strain  : 

'  He  to  psaltry,  viol,  rote, 

Chorus,  harp,  and  lyre  could  sing  ; 
And  so  sweet  was  ev'ry  note 

When  he  touch'd  the  trembling  string, 
That,  with  love  and  zeal  infiam'd, 

All  who  joined  the  list'ning  throng, 
Him  with  ecstasy  proclaim'd 

God  of  minstrels,  God  of  song.' 

So  must  we  end  this  brief  review  of  the  remotest 
period  in  old  Albion's  musical  life,  dating  from  that 


io  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

far-off  era  when  lions  and  tigers,  with  the  wild 
elephant  and  rhinoceros,  roamed  the  forests  of  our 
now  well-trimmed  land.  The  survey  has  taken  us 
back  under  the  dark  shroud  of  thousands  of  years  in 
our  country's  existence,  a  time  covering-  not  only  the 
Neolithic  or  New  Stone  Period,  but  also  the  still  older 
Stone  Age,  when  Palaeolithic  humanity,  unnamed  and 
unstoried,  trod  our  precious  soil.  Much,  very  much, 
has  been  effaced  in  the  long  past  relating  to  Britain's 
artistic  life  ;  but,  happily,  there  is  still  testimony  of 
her  great  musical  position  long  before  the  age  of 
books  and  written  documents. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY  BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  MUSIC. 

The  First  light  thrown  upon  musical  England  —  British  life 
according  to  Pytheas — Roman  Influence — Idris — The  Crwth 
—  Helen  —  British  children  musically  instructed  —  Social 
uses  for  Music — A  British  musical  System — Character  of 
British  Music — The  Melodies  most  authentic — -Welsh  Music 
allied  to  the  original  British — Musical  gifts  of  the  Welsh — 
Music  indigenous  to  Britain — Britain's  earliest  Sacred  Music 
— Before  the  Saxon  Invasion — Tertullian — St.  Alban — 
Character  of  First  British  Ecclesiastical  Music  —  Gildas's 
references  to  Dress  and  Fashions  —  Baptisms  and  Con- 
firmations— St.  Patrick — British  Bishops  in  Conference  at 
'Augustin's  Oak' — Characteristic  British  Melodies. 

Pytheas,  the  Greek  navigator  and  Marseilles  mer- 
chant, who  was  contemporary  with  Alexander  the 
Great  and  Aristotle  (384-322  B.C.),  visited   Britain, 

and  throws  the  first  light  upon  the  musical 
Pytheas.  ,  .     .  ,  -      , 

and    artistic    tendencies    01    the    natives. 

They,  according  to  him,  were  capable  of  enjoying 

social   pursuits   and   pleasures   of  some   refinement. 

Landing  in  Kent,  he  saw  houses  of  wood  and  thatch, 

and  witnessed  the  method  of  threshing  corn  in  barns, 

and  the  storing  thereof  afterwards  in  pits.      He  met 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


here  a  hospitable  people — not  a  foreign  settlement, 
but  sons  of  the  soil — whose  manners  had  been 
polished  by  contact  with  visitors  from  the  outer 
world.  At  the  western  extremity  of  the  land  he 
found  the  Cornish  tin-mines,  with  their  shafts  and 
galleries  being  worked  much  as  they  are  to-day. 
The  people  drank  their  curmi,  a  liquor  fermented 
from  barley.  The  horn,  Pytheas  adds,  was  a 
common  accompaniment  to  the  person,  and  in  war 
the  onslaughts  of  the  British  hosts  were  preceded 
by  loud  cries  and  the  blowings  of  these  horns. 

In  the  year  55-54  B.C.,  the  Roman  trumpet-call 
arrested  the  ear  of  the  brave  Briton,  yet,  beyond  a 
few  references  in  their  literature,  the  first  or  subse- 
Roman  quent  visits  of  the  invaders  of  Britain 
Influence.  scarcely  aided  music  here.  Save  the 
harp,  lyre,  and  cithar,  the  tuba  and  buccina,  the 
valorous   Romans    had    nought    but   martial    instru- 


£££■ 


ROMAN    LYRES   AND    CITHARS. 


ments,  and  no  vocal  music  beyond  profane  songs  ; 
so  that,  although  they  came  and  went  for  three  cen- 
turies, they  did  not  seriously  influence  the  music  of 
Britain.     The  natives  refused  association  with  their 


THE  ROMAS  ISFU'ESCE 


13 


conquerors,  and  every  tribe   retained  its  old  tastes 
and  customs,  musical  and  otherwise. 


ROMAN    LYRES   AND   CITHARS. 


Pending  the  Roman  scourge  (54  B.C.  to  450  a.d.) 
the  natives,  especially  those  of  South  Britain,  devoted 
such  time  as  could  be  spared  from  the  constantly- 
recurring  periods  of  war  to  musical  exercise.  The 
art,  as  has  been  said,  retained  its  old  British  warmth 
and  sympathetic  character,  untainted  by  any  influence 
of  the  conquerors,  and 
every  century  is  bright 
with  the  name  of  some 
musician,  kingly  or 
lowly-born,  whose  skill 
in  music  exalted  him  in 
the  estimation  of  the  people.  For  generations  the 
groves  of  Britain  resounded  to  the  praises  of  Idris, 


A    ROMAN   TRUMPETER. 


* 


*  Idris  is,  of  course,  a  figure  only  in  Welsh  tradition,  whose 
history  cannot  be  traced  with  certainty.  He  is  supposed  to  have 
been  at  once  a  giant,  a  prince,  and  an  astronomer.  On  the 
summit  of  Cader  Idris  in  Merionethshire  may  be  seen  his  rock- 


M 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


the  most  ancient  chieftain  and  lord  of  the  borders  of 
Idris   Mountain.      His  home  was  the  highest  peak 

in  Merionethshire,  and  he 
boasted  a  genealogy  from  Cad- 
waladr,  Meirion,  and  more. 
The  harp,  which  the  Italian 
poet  Venantius  Fortunatus* 
(565  a.d.)  wrote  was,  with  the 
crwth,  the  instrument  of  the 
'  barbarians,'  or  Britons,  is  said 
to  have  been  invented  by  Idris. 
It  is  more  probable  that  he 
improved  some  existing  instru- 
ment, or  the  cognomen  of  '  in- 
ventor '  may  have  been  won 
through  sheer  proficiency  as  a  player.  Writing 
about  the  year  609  a.d.  to  Loup,  Duke  of  Cham- 
pagne, this  same  author  mentions  the  crotta,  the 
Latinized  name  for  the  cruth,  or  crwth  : 

'  Romanus  lyra,  plaudit  tibi,  barbarus  harpa 
Grsechus  Achilliaca,  Crotta  Brittanus  canit.' 

Venant.  Fort.,  Carm.  VIII. ,  lib.  vii. 

In  shape  the  crwth  was  an  oblong  body,  with  a 


A   ROMAN    BUCCINATOR. 


hewn  chair,  and  an  ancient  tradition  says  that  any  Welsh  bard 
who  should  pass  the  night  upon  it  would  be  found  next  morning 
either  dead,  mad,  or  endowed  with  supernatural  poetic  inspiration. 
This  tradition  forms  the  subject  of  a  fine  poem  by  Mrs.  Hemans  ; 
the  gigantic  size  of  the  chair  is  alluded  to  in  Tennyson's  '  Geraint 
and  Enid.' 

*  Bishop  of  Poictiers. 


THE  CRWTH 


15 


neck  and  finger-board,  as  here  illustrated.  It  had 
six  strings,  four  over  the  finger-board  and  two  open 
The  strings  beyond  it.  Consequent  upon  the 
Crwth.  flat  bridge,  the  strings  when  sounded  must 
have  given  off  harmony,  since  they  were  not  tuned 
to  the  same  note,  but  as  follows  : 


-G>- 


-G- 


five  and  six  being  the  open  strings. 

It  is  this  peculiar  construction  of  the  crwth,  and 
the  mode  of  tuning  it,  which  fur- 
nishes proof  of  the  early  addiction 
of  the  Welsh  and  British  to  har- 
mony. In  any  case,  this  ancient 
violin  is  one  of  the  verv  earliest- 
known  instruments  played  with  a 
bow. 

The  word  '  crwth  '  is  pronounced 
in  English  'crowth,'  and  corruptly 
'  crowd ';  a  player  on  the  crwth  was 
called  a  crowther,  or  crowder,  and 
so  also  is  a  common  fiddler  to 
this  day  ;  and  hence,  undoubtedly, 
crowther,  or  crowder,  a  common 
surname. 

Butler,  with  his  usual  humour, 
has  characterized  a  common  fiddler,  and  given  him 


THE    CRWTH. 

AA,  the  apertures  for 
the  hand  ; 

BB,  the  strings  con- 
ducted under  the  end- 
board  ; 

cc,  the  pegs  ; 

dd,  the  sound-holes. 


1 6  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

the  name  of  Crowdero,  in  the  following  passage  of 
the  '  Hudibras  '  :* 

'  F  th'  head  of  all  this  warlike  rabble, 
Crowdero  march'd,  expert  and  able. 
Instead  of  trumpet  and  of  drum, 
That  makes  the  warrior's  stomach  come, 
Whose  noise  whets  valour  sharp,  like  beer 
By  thunder  turned  to  vinegar.' 

Of  fairer  mould  was  another  most  skilful  in  music. 
She  was  Helen  (250-330  a.d.),  the  only  daughter  of 
Coel  Godbebog,  King  of  Britain  in  the  third  cen- 
tury. She  was  esteemed  the  loveliest  woman  of  her 
time,  and  the  accounts  say  that  the  Britons  named 
her  Helen  Luyddawe,  or  Helen  with  the  Great  Army, 
which  she  led  out  to  Jerusalem,  where,  tradition 
says,  she  found  the  cross  of  Christ. 

At  the  call  to  arms,  at  the  banquet  board,  and  at 
the  orgies,  the  accompaniment  of  music  was  ever 
present  with  our  early  ancestors.  Sometimes  the 
voice  and  harp  were  attuned  to  the  warrior's  requiem ; 
at  other  times  the  victories,  prowess  and  virtues  of 
notable  chieftains  formed  the  lays  of  the  singers. 
King,  chief,  and  dependent  strove  to  excel  in  vocal 
or  instrumental  music,  and  very  commonly  were  pro- 
ficient in  both.  Never  was  an  art  held  in  higher 
honour  than  was  music  among  the  ancient  Britons. 
Occasionally  it  led  to  high  promotion  in  the  land, 
and,  in  special  instances,  deft  performers  and  chosen 

*  Part  I.,  canto  ii.,  v.  155. 


BRITISH  MUSICAL  CUSTOMS  17 


singers,  from  the  lower  orders,  were  elevated  to  the 
dignities    even    of   princes  —  ruling   dominions   and 

having   privileges,  rewards,   and    honours 
Musical    bestowed  upon  them  solely  for  their  musical 

worth  and  talent."5'     At  every  turn  there 
was  a  call  for  music  among  the  natives  here. 

British  children  were  accustomed  from  their  infancy 
to  sing  the  glorious  actions  of  their  ancestors.      It 
was  the  paramount  duty  of  the  proficient  in  song  or 
instrument  to  impart  this  knowledge  to  the  young, 
and  they  in  their  turn  were  required  to  hand  on  the 
teaching  which  they  had  received.  This  responsibility 
became  sacred.    Well,  too  ;  for  without  it  much  of  the 
tradition  concerning  the  country  which  was  carried 
through  centuries,  until  writing  became  known,  would 
have  been  lost.     The  Welsh  melodies,  handed  down 
in  this  way,  and  which  appeal  to  the  feelings  with 
almost  irresistible  force  as  they  break  the  deep  night 
air   in   the  remote  villages   of  the   Principality,  are 
to-day  alive  with  tones  and  intervals  of  themes  which 
centuries  ago  burst  forth  from  most  heroic  Britons. 
In  the  south-west  extremity   of  England  smoulder 
the  remains  of  many  an  early  British  theme,  religious 
and   profane.     The   folk-song,    or  song  of  the   soil, 
the  oriofin  of  which  dates  back  to  a  time  of  which 

o 

*  For  many  years  this  practice  prevailed  in  Britain  ;  and,  to 
cite  a  notable  case,  was  it  not  this  same  spirit  and  custom  which 
led  King  Richard  II.  (1366-1399),  many  years  afterwards,  to 
convey  to  Geoffrey  Chaucer  the  manor  of  Neweline  in  Oxford- 
shire, in  reward  for  his  poems? 

2 


1 8  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

man    knoweth   not,    is,    now    and    then,    the    unex- 
tinguished   fire    of    British    ancients,    which    untold 
centuries  of  future  usage  will  barely  efface.     So  with 
the  carol.      Many  an  example  of  this  beautiful  musical 
form    hails    from    some    outlying  district    where  its 
origin  is  unknown.     We  cannot  divine  the  author- 
ship of  the  tune,  and  although  the  carol  itself  gener- 
ally has  the  sacred  Bethlehem  scene  for  its  subject, 
so  unlike  is  the  music  to  any  earliest  Church  music, 
that  very  often  the  tune  would  appear  to  be  older 
even  than  the  Holy  Manger  story  which  it  clothes. 
Traditional,  we  say  of  such  tunes  ;  and  it  is  not  un- 
likely  that  among    them    are    remnants    of  ancient 
sacrificial   chants  and   melodies,   understood   of  the 
people  long  before  Christianity  was  introduced  into 
Britain  ;    tunes  which   have  passed  from   breast   to 
breast  ;    tunes   so    affecting,   so   deep-reaching,  that 
they  can  never  be  obliterated,  but  remain  as  good 
to-day  as  they  were  when  sounded  amid  the  heathen 
temple-worship  of  Britain  2,000  years  ago,  or  when, 
perchance,    they    fell    upon    the   ears    of    a    kingly 
Caractacus  or  Togodumnus. 

In  their  homes  the  Britons  used  music  to  lull  the 
children  to  sleep  much  as  we  do  now.  Here  is  a 
Uses  for  lullaby,  that  was  played  to  soothe  to  sleep 
Music.  fae  princess  Gwenllian,  or  'fair  beauty,' 
daughter  of  Prince  Rhys  ab  Griffith,  who  died  in 
the  year  11 90.  The  tune,  however,  is  probably  of 
much  more  ancient  date  : 


A   LULLABY 


'9 


ORDDIGAN    HtJN    GWENLLIAN. 
( The  Harmony  of  Gtvenlliaris  Repose!) 


WbJ  J1  li  gl-HgUi 


W^=F 


^U 


i=J-t3- 


94.    '  t-l— p ; 


rr 


E=r:z{=|E 


^ 


ffi^c 


&ESE 


-tr- 


=3  — 


fi»£=£j  I4-    J  4p---s=£^ 


zr± — fc — iff  F  f  P  :  3tpiT £=U_JLUi_t=»_^_ 


^^TTTl=SgR-^U-^ 


•^J 


j— • — »z»: 


-94-- 


i£± 


:t=: 


^l=t= 


as 


^l|p^^isl^i 


g^^f^^jl^I^^fpi 


20  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

At  the  British  funerals,  especially,  music  was  a 
feature.  From  the  Ossianic  poems  we  learn  that 
the  most  important  of  all  the  rites  of  sepulture  among 
the  ancient  Britons  was  the  funeral-song  containing 
the  praises  of  the  deceased,  sung  by  a  number  of 
bards  to  the  music  of  their  harps  when  the  body  was 
deposited  in  the  grave  : 

'  Then  about  the  mound 
The  warriors  rode,  and  raised  a  mournful  song 
For  their  dead  king,  exalted  his  brave  deeds, 
Holding  it  fit  men  honour  their  liege  lord, 
Praise  him  and  love  him  when  his  soul  is  fled.' 

Beowulf  (Fourth  Century). 

To  want  a  funeral-song  was  esteemed  the  greatest 
misfortune  and  disgrace,  as  the  belief  prevailed  that 
without  it  the  spirits  of  the  dead  would  enjoy  neither 
rest  nor  happiness  in  the  world  to  come.  The 
Britons  even  introduced  the  art  into  their  ornament, 
as  the  pavement  at  Brading  shows.  When  the 
Romans  had  taught  them  the  art,  the  British  worked 
wondrous  tessellated  pavements,  and  often  incorpor- 
ated a  representation  of  Orpheus  with  a  lyre.  At 
Woodchester,  in  Gloucestershire,  a  splendid  pave- 
ment of  musical  design  has  been  traced. 

To  the  laudable  spirit  concerning  the  handing 
down  of  the  art  may  be  attributed  that  growth  and 
influence  of  music  in  the  island  during"  several 
centuries,  when  appalling  trouble  and  disaster  might 
easily  have  tempted  the  people  to  unstring  and  hang 
up  their  harps  for  ever. 


HAD  THE  BRITONS  A   METHOD? 


It  was  to  these  eminently  practical  uses  that  music 
was  put  in  early  Britain,  besides  which  it  served  not 
less  prominently  as  a  favourite  amusement.  It  was 
all  this  also  which  the  Roman  legions,  with  steel 
gladius,  pilum,  and  short  double-edged  sword,  sought 
to  obliterate  ;  but  the  soldiers  could  not  penetrate 
the  caves  and  fastnesses  of  armed  Albion,  to  which 
the  British  harper  and  singer  escaped  when  hunted 
for  his  life. 

Whether  the  British  possessed  any  actual  musical 
system  is  unknown.  Most  likely  they  did.  A  well- 
ordered  people  like  the  Britons  probably  had  means 
Method  f°r  delineating  and  disseminating  their 
or  System.  mus{cal  knowledge.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment would  be  obvious,  especially  for  the  purpose — 
so  important  with  the  Briton — of  teaching  the  art  to 
the  young.  Nothing  exists  pointing  to  a  method. 
Every  remnant  of  even  a  most  perfect  system  would 
easily  have  become  effaced  and  destroyed,  however, 
during  the  centuries  of  devastation  which  the  country 
passed  through  under  the  rule  and  visitations  of  the 
Saxons  and  Danes.  The  Irish,  it  is  tolerably  certain, 
had  a  system  of  musical  notation  of  their  own,  long 
before  Guido's  invention  of  the  staff  and  musical 
characters.  '  The  very  earliest  Welsh  records,' 
wrote  the  late  Sir  Frederick  A.  Gore  Ouseley, 
Oxford  University  Professor  of  Music,  'seem  to 
prove  the  existence  of  harmony  in  Wales.  Doubt- 
less  it   was  of  the  rudest   kind  ;  but  it  was   far   in 


22  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


advance  of  the  miserable  attempts  at  harmony  (if 
we  may  call  it  so)  which  we  find  in  the  works  of  the 
early  writers  on  musical  theory.'* 

Every  ancient  Briton  carried  music  in  his  breast, 
however,  and  the  soul  of  harmony  ne'er  was  stilled 
till  death  laid  him  low.  Then  came  the  outpourings 
of  great  grief  moulded  into  incantation,  funeral  chant, 
and  lamentation — plaints  which  these  big-hearted 
ancestors  of  ours  sang  with  strong  resemblance  to 
the  manner  of  the  Hebrews.  Here  and  there  in  an 
early  manuscript  an  ancient  sepulchral  verse  has 
been  preserved,  and  may  well  be  cherished  if  we 
would  commemorate  the  deeds  of  valiant  Britons 
who  were  our  forefathers. 

Fortunately,  we  are  not  without  a  clue  to  the  style 

of  British  music.     Its  striking  feature  was  its  indis- 

putably  indigenous  character.     Hospitality  and  warm 

affection  were  esteemed  a  virtue  among  the  Britons, 

and  this  quality  reflected  itself  in  the  native  music, 

stamping  it  as  a  home  production.     When  visitors 

— even    strangers  —  arrived    at    a    house, 
British  .  .  .  ,.«.        \ 

Music.      this  genial  and  good-natured  spirit  diffused 

itself  over  the  whole    place,   and    music 

from   the  harps   resounded  on   all    sides.     The   art 

was  a  growth,  swelling  with  that  warm  affection  and 

naturalness  out  of  which  our  scientific  musical  system 

has  grown.     So  that  the  traditional  tunes,  even  as 

they  have  come  down  to  us,  may  well  be  believed 

*  •  History  of  Music  '  (Naumann-Ouseley),  vol.  i.,  p.  395. 


AN  OLD-TIME  TUNE 


23 


in  ;  for  they  carry  with  them  the  flavour  of  sterling 
antiquity,  and  a  thorough  genuineness.  Some  have 
reached  us  we  know  not  how,  others  in  written 
characters  ;  while  many  have  been  noted  down  by 
more  recent  enthusiastic  collectors  as  they  were 
sung  from  the  lips  of  the  old  people  who  best  re- 
membered them,  and  who  had  received  them  from 
their  ancestors.  Here  are  two  further  specimens  of 
these  old  time  tunes  : 


Y    BRYTHON. 

{The  Britons.) 


±-^h-4 — i — uz.  J — 


m  a — ->- 


=t 


mmn 


5  itS*^         *  p  irnT 


4- 


w^=^ 


T-- 


-Jt-e-ZW- 


:Jp«£i 


jtr. 


24 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


2  ^rtf  prrP^rfMierrrM^ 


//S>  -.     -(9.  ^3  ~N 

It m.JLZ&~- r T±±72  «  "t9"  , 

r^#22 IZf E 


^^£-6? — —&-- — ip- 


:P 


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YR    HEN    ERDDIGAN. 

{The  Ancient  Harmony.) 


WSl 


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Tenderly. 


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•  •-  -&Z  -J" 


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THE  GENUINE  LYRICAL  SPIRIT 


25 


i 


tir 


are 


■&-  • 


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22: 


Our  attention  is  chiefly  directed  to  the  melodies, 
since  these  are  necessarily  the  more  genuine  portion. 
The  basses  and  harmonies  supplied  to  them  are,  for 
the  most  part,  the  creations  of  comparatively  recent 
1  improvers  '  and  adapters  with  a  craze  for  investing 
all  old  relics  with  their  personality,  and  as  such 
should  be  received  with  caution.  The  tunes  them- 
selves, however,  breathe  the  genuine  lyrical  spirit, 
and  have  the  true  ring  of  originality.  This  is  not 
surprising,  for  they  were  spontaneous  outbursts, 
prompted  by  the  very  scenes  and  occasions  which 
they  picture.     All  are  strongly  marked  and  charac- 


26  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

terized  by  wild  flight  and  imagination  —  features 
which  become  the  more  noticeable  the  further  we 
trace  back  for  such  tunes  : 

1  Britain,  whose  genius  is  in  song  exprest, 
Bold  and  sublime,  but  negligently  drest.' 

That  which  we  know  as  Welsh  music,  most  closely 
resembles  the  original  British  music.  As  Sir 
Frederick  Gore  Ouseley  has  said,  '  Probably  no  race 
of  men  has  preserved  so  much,  unaltered,  from  the 
great  storehouse  of  the  past  as  these  Cambro- 
Britons  ;  and  it  is,  therefore,  not  unreasonable  to 
conclude  that  in  their  oldest  tunes  we  may  have 
the  remains  of  what  was  anciently  the  music  of  this 
country  long  before  the  Roman  invasion  under  Julius 
Caesar.'* 

In  many  cases  the  melodies  sound  like  the  actual 
tunes  themselves,  brought  down  to  us  through  the 
ages  with  scarcely  a  flaw  or  a  missing  tone — so 
strongly-linked  was  the  first  workmanship.  Here 
and  there,  however,  a  tune  has  become  slightly 
altered  and  modernized  in  the  process  of  handing 
down  from  generation  to  generation  ;  but  the  old 
structure  remains,  and  though  the  '  improvers  '  may, 
as  they  do,  soften  and  spoil  its  sturdy  character, 
they  cannot  get  rid  of  the  grand  original  theme,  which 
has  braved  the  ravages  of  time  and  fashion  while 
borne  along  down  the  ages.     We  still  recognize  the 

*  '  History  of  Music,'  Naumann,  p.  395. 


BRITISH  MUSIC  INDIGENOUS  27 

same  plaintive  mood  in  these  ancient  vocal  relics, 
their  peculiarly  sympathetic  reach,  and  the  pent-up 
earnestness  which  are  alike  properties  of  our  oldest 
Irish,  Welsh,  and  Scottish  airs,  as  well  as  of  that 
music  of  the  East  which,  with  other  characteristics 
of  the  great  Aryan  family,  affected  the  artistic  ten- 
dencies of  Britain  and  other  parts  of  Europe  where 
this  Celtic  off-shoot  originally  settled. 

To  this  day  the  old  British  spirit  permeates  the 
Welsh  more  than  other  musical  people.  We  all 
know  how  musically-gifted  they  are,  and  what  fine 
musical  perception  is  theirs.  It  needs  but  a  glance, 
too,  at  musical  life  around  us,  whether  in  the  home 
or  in  the  concert-room,  to  see  how  our  best  singers 
and  choirs  may  be  traced  to  those  outlying  districts 
where  the  conditions  of  Britain's  earliest  inhabitants 
and  their  descendants  have  been  least  affected  by 
the  march  of  time  and  fashion.  That  the  art  of 
song  should  also  be  the  direction  in  which  the 
Welsh  show  a  predilection — just  as  Britain's  earliest 
musicians  did— would  seem  to  warrant  the  theory 
that  those  germs  of  our  musical  life  of  to-day  which 
burst  from  the  soil  when  Britain  was  emerging  from 
a  state  of  paganism,  have  not  only  always  been 
indigenous,  but  have  come  down  to  us  with  some- 
thing of  their  grand  old  force  and  affecting  proper- 
ties. 

Nor  was  Britain's  music,  long  and  long  prior  to 
the  Saxon   invasion,    confined   to   the  secular   kind 


28  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


alone.  Sacred  music  had  been  slowly  but  surely 
spreading  its  benign  influence  in  Britain,  in  services 
dedicated  to  the  true  God,  two   or  three  centuries 

before  the  time  of  Augustine,  who,  as  we 
Earliest  & 

Sacred    shall    see,    first   set    foot    on    English    sou 
Music.     .       ,  TT.  .  , 

in  the  year  597  a.d.  Historians  nave  con- 
clusively proved  the  existence  of  a  regular  church 
in  Britain  some  1 50  years  and  more  preceding  the 
Saxon  period.  'As  early  as  203  a.d.,'  says  Ter- 
tullian,  'there  were  Christians  in  Britain.'  Origen, 
writing  about  240  a.d.,  says  that  in  his  day  the 
religion  of  Christianity  was  established  in  Britain  ; 
and  one  Amphibalus,  a  native  clergyman,  is  singled 
out.  Who  does  not  know  the  story  of  St.  Alban, 
the  proto-martyr  of  Britain,  who  gave  up  his  life  for 
the  Cross?  History  places  beyond  dispute,  too,  the 
fact  that  British  Bishops  of  York,  London,  and  Usk, 
in  314  a.d.,  attended  the  Council  of  Aries,  etc.  All 
these  holy  men  preached  Christianity,  which  first 
reached    Britain,    it    may    be,    from    St.    Joseph   of 

Arimathea — 

'  From  our  old  books  I  know 
That  Joseph  came  of  old  to  Glastonbury  '* — 

or  other  eye-witnesses  of  the  incidents  in  that  awful 
drama  of  the  Crucifixion. 

The  first  musical  element  in  the  services  of  the 
new  faith  in  Britain  must  have  been  slender  indeed 
— consisting  probably  of  an  early  Christian  chant, 

::   Tennyson  :  '  The  Holy  Grail.' 


EARLY  SACRED  MUSIC  29 

sung  antiphonally,  after  the  manner  in  which  the 
Hebrews  sang — thus  forecasting  the  beautiful  double 
choir,  or  decani  and  cantoris,  effects  of  later  ecclesi- 
astical music.  Probably  it  was  restricted  to  vocal 
music,  for  although  the  Christians  of  Alexandria 
(180  a.d.)  set  the  example  of  using  a  flute  during 
the  singing  of  the  Last  Supper  chant,  orchestral 
accompaniments  in  religious  services  might  only 
have  attracted  and  incensed  the  more  the  enemies 
of  the  new  religion  in  Britain.  In  the  second 
century  the  minds  of  holy  men  thought  of  such  a 
service-music  as  could  be  adopted  generally  in 
Christian  churches.  Britain  particularly  shared  in 
this,  and  as  the  churches  were  built  on  a  larger 
scale,  the  simple  unaffected  music  of  early  times 
probably  gave  way  to  more  advanced  singing  by 
trained  voices.  Indeed,  it  is  known  that  in  367  a.d. 
the  Laodicean  Council  issued  a  canon  prescribing 
that  only  those  duly  appointed  should  sing  in  the 
churches.  '  None  but  the  canons  and  the  choir  who 
sing  out  of  the  parchment  books  should  presume  to 
sing  in  the  church  ' — so  ran  the  order. 

Nowhere  did  early  sacred  music  find  more  scope 
than  in  Britain.  The  people  in  several  districts  had 
become  cultivated,  and  grown  wealthy.  There  is 
not  sufficient  evidence  to  prove  that  the  Church 
service-music  partook  of  other  than  the  original 
character  of  a  simple  chant  and  hymn  which  the 
Bishops  and  clergy  could  sanction   by  ecclesiastical 


3o  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


precedent.  Yet  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  the  Britons, 
so  fond  of  music,  and  enraptured  with  the  Christian 
faith,  would  content  themselves  with  anything  short 
of  a  hearty  service  of  song,  if  not  of  instrumental 
music.     There  is    little   reason    to    doubt    that    the 

Church  services  became  of  an  elaborate 

The  i  i_ 

Church     and  gorgeous  character,  anticipating  not 

unfavourably  the  vocal  part  of  the  Roman 
ritual  as  rendered  now.  In  such  a  case  music  would 
necessarily  be  a  feature,  and  one  which  the  har- 
monious tendencies  of  the  tribes  would  render  quite 
practicable.  A  people  with  distinct  musical  talent 
and  aspirations — who  made  the  practice  of  the  art  a 
part  of  their  daily  life,  who  used  music  in  so  many 
secular  ways — would  be  all  disposed  towards  giving 
of  their  best  when  their  art  took  the  shape  of  music 
of  the  sanctuary.  There  could  easily  have  been 
a  united  effort  in  choral  song,  consisting  largely, 
perhaps,  of  unisonal  singing,  varied  by  outbursts 
of  harmony.  Such  a  polyphonous  art  would  have 
been  as  possible  then  as  now.  If  only  of  an  im- 
pulsive and  intuitive  order,  it  was  yet  pure  British 
harmony,  and  would  prove  grand  indeed,  coming 
spontaneously  from  the  lips  of  men  and  women  full 
and  fresh  with  ecstatic  enthusiasm  for  the  new 
Christianity,  and  as  pre-eminently  gifted  in  and 
sensitive  to  song,  as  the  native  Britons  unquestion- 
ably ever  were. 

It  would  not  have  been  impossible   even  for  an 


MUSIC  AND  RITUAL  AT  CEREMONIALS  31 


ecclesiastical  music  system  to  have  existed.  In 
civilized  districts  of  Britain,  like  the  south  -  east, 
much  social  refinement  had  been  obtained.  Accord- 
ing to  Gildas  (516-570  a.d.),  there  were  some  twenty- 
eight  principal  cities  in  the  time  of  the  old  Britons, 
where  were  the  homes  of  nobles  whose  costly  apparel 
included  garments  dyed  in  gorgeous  colours  and 
embroidered  with  gold,  chains  of  gold  about  the 
neck,  finger-rings  and  gold  armlets.  The  ladies 
were  adorned  with  gold  bracelets,  brooches,  corselets 
of  silver  and  gold,  with  necklets  of  amber  and  gold 
intermixed.  Then  even  was  London  '  crowded 
with  merchants.' 

We  may  assume  that  the  ceremonials  in  which 
such  an  aristocracy  engaged  would  be  conducted 
with  corresponding  splendour,  and,  since  the  churches 
would  be  the  scenes  of  important  gatherings,  we 
may  conclude  that  the  music  and  ritual  employed 
were  on  a  scale  of  some  grandeur.  Could  there 
have  been  a  function,  for  instance,  like  the  baptism 
to  Christianity  of  such  important  personages  as  the 
Kings  of  Dublin  and  Munster  (which  ceremony  St. 
Patrick  himself  performed)  without  the  aid  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving  ?  Nor  is  it  conceivable 
that  music  would  fail  to  be  a  feature  at  the  regular 
services,  and  especially  at  the  confirmations,  one  of 
which  is  historically  famous  on  account  of  Carotick, 
Prince  of  Wales,  attacking  the  congregation  and 
pursuing  it  before  the  eyes  of  St.  Patrick. 


32  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Historical  records  furnish  collateral  evidence  -re- 
specting early  sacred  music  resources.  The  Roman 
Breviary  tells  us  that  St.  Patrick,  Bishop  of  Ireland 
(420-492  a.d.),  was  accustomed  to  perform  daily 
'  the  whole  Psalter,  together  with  the  canticles  and 
hymns,'  which  were,  of  course,  the  forms  of  song 
and  praise  used  in  his  day  throughout  the  Irish 
churches.  Now  St.  Patrick,  it  is  maintained,  knew 
nothing  of  Papal  authority,  and  as  he  was  ordained 
in  Scotland,  and  afterwards  devoted  his  life  to  the 
work  of  converting  the  Irish,*  who  were  all  idolaters, 
it  is  fair  to  claim  that  the  music  of  his  Church  was  of 
distinct  parentage  from  that  which  Augustine  the 
missionary  subsequently  brought  with  him. 

After  Augustine  had  landed  here,  we  read  of  the 
seven  British  Bishops,  who  with  Dinoth,  Abbot  of 
Bangor,  met  Augustine  and  his  followers  at  a  con- 
ference at  a  spot  in  Worcestershire,  since  cherished 
as  Augustine's  Oak.  Here  it  was,  probably,  that 
the  great  Apostle  to  the  Saxons  made  his  appeal  to 
the  British  clergy  to  join  with  him  in  combating 
the  paganism  of  the  country,  especially  the  idolatry 
of  that  pre-eminently  destructive  people,  the  heathen 
English.  Our  forefathers  built  the  British  churches, 
and  we  may  be  sure  as   religiously  provided  some 

*  A  MS.  '  Hymnus  S.  Patrii  Magistri  Scotorum,'  originally  in 
the  library  of  St.  Columbanus  at  Bobbio,  and  now  in  the  Ambrosian 
Library  at  Milan,  is  worth  examination. 


IMMEMORIAL   MUSICAL   TENDENCIES 


jj 


kind  of  music  for  the  services  ;  but  just  as  scarcely 
a  fragment  survives  of  the  ecclesiastical  architecture 
of  Christian  Britain,  so  also  every  musical  remnant, 
whether  note  or  record,  has  vanished  in  that  com- 
plete destruction  of  everything  British  which  the 
Saxon  pagans  wrought.  One  thing  is  tolerably 
certain  :  The  ancient  British  Church  before  the 
Conquest  must  have  been  a  greater,  grander  reality 
than  any  historian  has  ever  painted  it. 

There  is  no  reason  whatever — despite  the  persis- 
tent foreign  neglect  of  us  as  a  musical  nation — why 
we  should  not  continue  the  cherished  belief  that 
from  time  immemorial  music  has  been  a  decided 
characteristic  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  country  ;  also 
that  a  deep-seated  passion  for  vocal  and  instrumental 
harmony — strong  and  distinctive  enough  to  outlive 
all  untoward  processes  of  time,  calamity,  and  fashion 
-has  filled  the  breast  of  the  British  subject  since 
the  remotest  ages.  It  ever  was  unquestionably  and 
distinctly  British,  and  to-day  it  still  lives  in  the 
melodies  of  England  and  Wales,  Scotland  and 
Ireland.  If  the  music  of  this  country  should,  happily, 
be  ever  re-invested  with  its  own  legitimate  character, 
it  would  probably  derive  more  distinctive  quality 
from  the  Welsh,  Scotch,  and  Irish  melodic  germs 
than  from  the  English,  which  is  less  marked  in 
character  than  either  of  its  neighbours,  as  a  com- 
parison of  the  following  melodies  will  show  : 

3 


34 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


English. 


Tune  by  Henry  VIII. 


^ 


-\ l-T ' ' 


— I V  3 -J — ■ 1 1— - — v  ■ 


£z±: 


_#J5 #- 


m 


££. 


~t— h- 


J  1   J 


* 


fc±=fc 


••  # 


:± 


:e: 


-=1 — 
4 


V 


.^ i 


-<s>— 


Scottish 

I"2 


Traditional. 


:*i~i: 


•t»— #=a 


-1-^- 


55 **" 


-• H*- 


H-a^-#  -m- 


-"•*-- 


Irish. 


a^g; 


-# — »- 


zfc 


TZZt 


-h 


Traditional. 


WL 


— # ^ ■ -* ^^^ L , 1 


,-.zt 


p  r   ■- 


H ^ 


#P— I -*— •- 


5=PE.^l=ilE^^ 


BRITISH  MUSICAL  CHARACTER 


35 


:»~#: 


^±J1±1' 


Welsh. 


Traditional. 


W 


i=^fe^l^^^l^y 


ifc= 


^5*= 


-&- 


-• — 0- 


»— s: 


^*=Z=±=^\£=^:3 


--i — — »-f  f-B-j-8--H — i — FT"  i     j^l 


$=+=* 


fr 


■:zg=r— r»qc  1    1  - 


dtt=t 


S 


it* 


-? — 


TJ  Cj  1  [f -*<2t±p3  ,««^^ 


tJT^Tng:^^^^ 


Ruder,  of  course,  than  the  above  melodies  were 
the  first  British  tunes  ;  but  the  peculiar  character — 
the  plaintive  pathos — distinguishing-  the  quotations 
will    have    been    even    more    strongly    marked    in 


36  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Britain's  earliest  music.  Each  century  softens  that 
original  musical  distinctiveness  ;  and,  easy  as  it  is 
to  detect  the  splendid  Celtic  quality,  this  cannot  be 
expected  to  grow  more  prominent  as  Time  rolls 
on.  That  this  true  native  flavour  will  ever  cling 
to  our  national  music,  admits  of  little  doubt.  It  is 
a  property  which  marks  all  our  past  music,  and 
belongs  exclusively  to  Britain.  No  other  country's 
tunes  are  tinctured  with  the  same  strange  influences 
as  are  the  tunes  of  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Wales 
particularly.  The  older  the  tunes  the  better  are  all 
their  qualities.  They  are  at  once  grand  and  pathetic. 
Even  the  perversity  of  interval  and  modulation  which 
characterize  the  tunes  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  — 
ascribed,  it  is  said,  to  imperfect  transcription  at 
some  time — cannot  rob  them  of  their  lasting  beauty. 
How  symmetrical  in  form,  and  lovely  in  their  stately 
evenness,  too,  are  the  Welsh  melodies  —  almost 
without  an  exception. 

Principal  Authorities. 


'  The  Bardic  Museum '     - 

Jones. 

'  De  Excidio  Britannia '  - 

Gildas. 

1  Celtic  Heathendom ' 

Rhys. 

'  De  Bello  Gallico  ' 

Caesar. 

'  Origin  of  English  History  '    - 

Elton. 

'  Ancient  British  Church  ' 

Pryce. 

'  Early  English  Church  History  ' 

Bright. 

'  Life  of  St.  Patrick  ' 

Todd. 

'  History  of  Music '         -         -         - 

Naumann 

'  The  National  Music  of  the  World  ' 

Chorley. 

'  History  of  Music  '         -         -         - 

Burney. 

CHAPTER  II. 

SAXON  MUSICAL  INFLUENCE. 

Saxon  Visitors — Their  National  Characteristics — Destructiveness 
of  the  Saxons — Gallican  Church  Assistance — Germanus  and 
the  '  Alleluia '  Victory — Ambrose  and  the  Ambrosian  Chant 
— Its  Effect  on  Bishop  Augustine — Battling  with  Saxon 
Paganism  —  Success  of  the  English  Clergy — Columba — 
Aidan — Beowulf — Anglo-Saxon  Festal  Hall — Gleemen  or 
'  Gladdeners  '  of  the  Hall — Coedmon — Csedmon's  Musical 
Vision  —  Light  from  Northumbria  —  Benedict  Biscop — 
Foundation  of  Jarrow  and  Wearmouth  Monasteries — Bede 
— Bede's  Writings  and  his  Work  in  the  Monastery — Papal 
Singing-masters  for  Jarrow  and  Wearmouth — Music  Schools — 
Death  of  Bede— Alcuin — Giraldus  Cambrensis  on  Singing  in 
England — An  Anglo-Saxon  Concert — Part-singing— Descant 
—William  of  Malmesbury  and  the  Ballad— A  Mixed  Art- 
Foundation. 

The  ruthless  Roman  all  but  extinguished  the  fire  of 
early  British  music.  A  few  embers  of  sacred  and 
secular  art  still  glowed  in  impenetrable  spots  known 
Saxon  to  t^ie  natives,  and  it  was  these  remnants  of 
Music.  tne  national  musical  instinct  and  practice — 
an  art  which  had  cheered  the  island  for  more  than 
four  hundred  years  past — which  again  were  to  be  at 
the  mercy  of  an  obliterating  conqueror — the  Saxon 
(420-870  A.D.). 


38  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


With  the  advent  of  the  fifth  century  Britain  re- 
ceived  something  of   an    English,    as   distinct  from 
the    original    British,    musical    character    from    that 
branch    of   the    Teuton    family    that    occupied    the 
district  of  Schleswig,  and  which,  with  clans  of  Jutes 
and   Frisians,  settled  here  from  the   marshy  coasts 
of  Low   Germany.     All  were  maritime  marauders, 
lofty    of    stature,    inured    to    hardships,     ferocious 
and  aggressive  beyond  measure — Goths,  say  some, 
who  would  slit  the  nostrils  of  a  horse,   sew  up   its 
ears  to  destroy  its  hearing,  and  dedicate  it  to  their 
god  of  war.     What  could  their  musical  sympathies 
be  ?     One  characteristic  that  marked  them  all  was 
their    jovial,     boisterous    nature.       Whether    Jute, 
Saxon,   or  Angle,   all   were  alike   in   their  fearless, 
adventurous     disposition.       They     came     first     on 
plunder  bent,  and  soon  proved  '  barbarians  '  indeed. 
Clambering  into  osier  and  skin  vessels,  which  held 
a   hundred    or    so,    they    ploughed    the    ocean    and 
channel  by  day  and  night,  armed  with  brown  shining 
swords,  long-handled  spears,  and  battle-axes,  which 
dealt  destruction  to  every  obstacle.     Then  arose  the 
coarse  song  and  drunken  chorus,  the  drift  of  which 
was  invariably  death  and  confusion  to  their  enemies. 
Chieftain,  freeman,  and  serf,  each  had  his  song,  a 
chorus   to   which  was   not  infrequently  tinged  with 
the    howl    and    oath.       Now    it    was    a    boisterous 
sea-song  which    these    sea-pirates    poured    forth    in 
tempestuous  tones  from  sturdy  surf-hardened  throats, 


SAXON  RUTHLESSNESS  39 


for  these  visitors  were  for  the  most  part  genuine 
buccaneers  and  maritime  robbers  —  not  the  in- 
dustrious population  of  the  German  district  that  was 
to  change  the  name  of  Britain  to  that  of  England. 
If  it  was  not  a  sea-song  which  they  bellowed  forth, 
it  was  an  effusion  having  a  theme  to  the  praise  of 
women,  the  virtues  of  wine,  or  hatred  for  enemies. 
Tune  and  words  alike  were  worse  than  worthless  to 
all  who  heard  them. 

Such  was  the  species  of  music,  if  it  can  be  called 
music,  which  constituted  the  first  foreign  influencing 
element  in  our  national  music  ;  and  that  this  phase  of 
German  art  did  not  favourably  impress  the  Briton  is 
not  surprising.  For  a  long  period,  therefore,  British 
music,  or  such  of  it  as  had  survived  the  Roman 
ordeals,  was  yet  cherished  and  practised  by  the 
natives — just  as  it  had  been  in  the  past. 

Neither  Britain's  men  nor  manners  were  proof, 
however,  against  the  steady  inroads  of  the  enemy 
waging  a  terrible  war  -  scourge.  Worshippers  of 
Tiw,  Woden  and  Thor,  they  were  inspired  with 
fearful  rage  against  the  religion  of  Christ.  What 
says  an  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  ?  '  ^Ella  and  Cissa 
besieged  Andreds-cester,  and  slew  all  that  dwelt 
therein,  so  that  not  a  single  Briton  was  there  left.' 
Out  of  the  skulls  of  their  foes  they  hoped  to  drink 
ale  in  the  hall  of  Woden,*  and  in  this  frenzy  hosts 

*  Our  Saxon  ancestors  being  addicted  to  the  barbarous  practice 
of  quaffing  their  ale  and  mead  on  festive  occasions  out  of  the 


4Q  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

of  them  flew  to  the  altars  of  the  British  churches, 
murdering  the  priests,  slaughtering  the  congrega- 
tions, defiling  the  sanctuaries,  and  with  fire  and 
axe  razing  the  buildings  to  the  ground.  Not  a 
church,  not  a  priest  or  worshipper  was  spared,  so 
thorough  was  the  destruction  wherever  it  was 
directed.  Thus,  what  was  beautiful  in  the  first 
Christian  churches  in  Britain  was  mercilessly  effaced 
by  the  English.  No  wonder  that  later  bards  lamented 
such  doings  with  regret  and  reproach. 

'Ye  sapient  Druids, 
Sing  praises  to  Arthur,' 

sang  Taliesin,  in  lauding  the  son  of  Uther  for  his 
prowess  at  the  battle  of  Goddan  ;  nor  can  we  be 
surprised  that,  when  nearly  two  centuries  afterwards 
Augustine  called  upon  the  remnants  of  the  British 
clergy  to  help  him  in  the  work  of  conversion,  they 
pointed  to  the  terrible  struggles  and  exterminating 
processes  of  the  past,  and  were  tardy  in  promising 
peace  or  pardon  to  a  race  which  had  torn  down  their 
churches  and  violated  holy  things.  No  ordinary 
power  was  needed  to  reconcile  Briton  and  Saxon  ; 
only  the  precious  influence  of  the  new  Faith  could 

skulls  of  their  enemies,  Rowena,  the  fair  daughter  of  Hengist, 
obtains  the  credit  of  having  converted  the  Prince  Vortigern  from 
the  custom  by  presenting  to  him  a  wine-bowl  with  the  salutation, 
'  Wass-heil,'  to  which  the  Prince  not  only  responded  by  a  counter- 
sign of  '  Drinc-heil,'  but,  smitten  with  her  great  beauty,  forthwith 
married  her. 


GALLIC  AX  CHURCH  AID  41 

avail.  This  blessing,  happily,  was  hovering  over 
the  island,  and  like  a  dove  was  soon  to  settle  with 
the  olive  branch  of  peace  for  all.  The  work  of  the 
Church  was  destined  to  break  out  again  in  Brito- 
England  ;  sacred  musical  art  would  exert  its  power 
over  the  hearts  and  minds  of  heathen  oppressors 
alike  with  the  natives  who,  through  toils  of  un- 
successful warfare,  had  degenerated  and  fallen  from 
the  Faith. 

The  new  help  came  from  Gaul,  and  the  aid  and 
guidance  which  the  British  clergy  received  from  the 
Gallican  Church  materially  forwarded  the  cause   of 

Church  music  anions  the  Saxons.    Brought 
Gallican         ,  &  ,& 

Church  originally  from  Ephesus,  the  Gallican 
Liturgy  included  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
Baptism,  Confirmation,  and  Burial  services.  Little 
is  known  of  its  style  of  music,  yet  as  hymns,  psalms, 
and  a  Mass  were  used,  a  species  of  monotone  with 
inflexions  was  probably  employed.  This  was  the 
ecclesiastical  music  which  preceded  the  Cantus 
Romanus  of  Gregory,  which  Augustine  brought 
two  hundred  years  later.  Sturdy  prelates  were 
these  bishops  from  France,  and  the  names  of  two — 
Germanus,  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  and  Lupus,  Bishop 
of  Troyes — have  fitly  been  preserved.  Germanus 
(380-448  a.d.),  Bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man,  and 
Lupus  (383-479  a.d.),  his  co-bishop — true  soldiers 
of  the  Cross  —  served  not  only  at  the  altar,  but 
were  required    to   lead   their   British  flocks  against 


42 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


TRIANGULAR     SAXON     HARP 
OF   THE  NINTH  CENTURY. 


their  foes,  sometimes  Saxons,  at  others  Picts  and 
Scots.  A  memorable  encounter  was  in  the  Dee 
Valley  (429  a.d.),  when,  by  a  strategic  shout  of  an 

'  Alleluia,'  which  made  the  hills 
reverberate,  the  affrighted  Picts 
flew  before  Germanus  and  his 
hosts,  and  a  bloodless  victory — 
since  famous  among  the  con- 
quests of  the  Cross — was  gained 
at  Maes  Garmon. 

Our  British  ancestors  were 
indebted  to  Germanus  for  the 
introduction  of  the  Gallican  Church  chant  manv 
years  prior  to  the  coming  of  Augustine.  It  is 
well  to  remember  the  condition  of  ecclesiastical 
music  in  England  before  it  received  the  stimulating 
example  and  influence  of  the  Gregorian  method 
which  Augustine  introduced.  The  old  British 
Church  music  had  all  but  gone,  and  the  Church  music 
here  of  which  we  have  the  first  historical  informa- 
tion, if  no  specimens,  was  undoubtedly  the  Gallican 
chant — id  est,  the  music  of  the  Church  in  Gaul.  It 
was  the  chant  adopted,  probably,  in  all  the  Christian 
churches  of  Europe  immediately  preceding  the  in- 
troduction of  the  Gregorian  chant,  and  since  the 
British  bishops  were  then  frequently  consecrated  in 
France,  they  would  naturally  bring  that  service- 
music  with  them  to  England  to  displace  the  heathen 
temple   tunes  which  were  still  obtaining  under  the 


AMBROSE  43 


Druids,  and  to  cement  together  such  fragments  as 
remained  of  the  old  British  Church  music.  When 
Restitutus,  Bishop  of  London,  with  Eborius,  Bishop 
of  York,  and  Adelphius,  Bishop  of  Caerleon-on-Usk, 
attended  the  Church  Council  at  Aries  (314  a.d.),  they 
would  hear  this  Gallican  chant,  and,  approving  of  it, 
use  it  in  their  churches.  It,  or  the  native  British 
Church  music,  constituted  the  sole  musical  means  in 
the  Church  until  the  Roman  chant  came  to  displace 
and  carry  all  before  it. 

In  the  year  374  a.d.  the  music  school  of  Milan, 
presided  over  by  Ambrose  (333-398  a.d.),  was 
opened.  Its  first  music  principles  were  derived  from 
Ambrose  tne  Eastern  Church,  but  the  then  known 
Arnbrosfan  ecclesiastical  chanting  having  fallen  into 
Chant.  much  confusion,  this  prelate  introduced 
into  Milan  Cathedral  a  form  and  style  in  which 
Divine  service  should  be  sung,  which  he  named  the 
Cantiis  A??ibrosianus,  or  Ambrosian  Chant.  It  was 
based  on  the  following  four  modes  or  scales,  bearing 
the  names  of  four  '  Authentic  '  Greek  modes,  not 
identical  with  them,  but  probably  founded  by 
Ambrose  on  the  same  principle  : 


AMBROSE'S  AUTHENTIC  MODES. 
First  Tone ;  Dorian. 


44 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


m 


'&- 


Secotid  Tone:  Phrygian. 


-&- 


-&- 


-s>- 


m 


■e- 


TJiird  Tone  :  Lydian. 


e- 


m 


:zz: 


Fourth  Tone  :  Mixo- Lydian. 


-<s 


AMBROSIAN  CHANTS. 


Bt 


-&- 


■HSH- 


:«: 


-&- 


."221 


-e- 


-&- 


-e 


-e- 


Scarcely  a  vestige  of  this  music  can  be  traced  for 
certain,  despite  the  researches  of  Burney,  Choron, 
and  other  authorities  who  examined  the  missals 
and  listened  to  the  sinorino-  at  the  cathedral  of  Milan 
without  observing  any  marked  difference  between  it 
and  the  Gregorian  music,  into  which  the  Ambrosian 
chant  would  seem  to  have  merged.  Its  character, 
however,  has  been  fairly  estimated,  as  the  few  bars 
from  the  following  Te  Deiim,  as  set  in  the  '  Choir 
Directory  of  Plain  Song,'  indicate  : 


AMBROSIAN  '  TE  DEC.M' 


45 


Priest 

or 

Cantors. 

Full. 

I  '/.'/son. 

-  K 

m 

-m- 

-'— ■ — H 

■  ■« 

.. 

*p-« 

— — 

1 

— i m — 

I 

. 

— m — 

h-U 

We  praise  Thee,     O  God:     we  ac-knowledge  Thee  to  be   the  Lord. 


L^^gr^gz^-J-^-"- 


■P     Q      I       f?  f2— g Hf    Q  L  * 


!; 


^S.^S'-E^ 


f 


II 


I 
All  the  earth  doth  wor     -     ship  Thee  :  the  Father  ev-er  -  last         ing. 


-&-&-  -- 


m 


ZZ1 


»Z3 


u~g-  ■•■  ?.  i  i  ^  a  rxj  j  _  _ 


ZZZZ1! 


&-—— 


G>- 


^L\ — &  -  • 
-I— rr^- — g— 


-S>- 


^ 


o- 


rf 


Trebles.      Unison. 


■"fi  ♦  ■!  ♦   ■  ^ 


^1 


To  Thee  all  An-gcls  cry  a-loud  :  lhe  Hea-vens,  and  all  thePow'rs  therein. 


-J l—l 

w^^ — rg 


-4—1 — I- H — h-r — | — 1 — — H       ,        n 


i    i  -*■ — -i         I    i       i         r  "i        " 

To  Thee  Che-ru-bin   and  Se      -      ra-phin  :  con-tin-u  -  al  -  ly     -     do  cry, 


m* 


-&- 


-&-&- 


■!*?=& 


_— J  -<s> 


P 


32=t 


:sn: 


zzz 


<9- 


<S> 


-m-e- 


Men. 


Full.      Unison. 


±=± 


&Z 


Wz&  *$  l- 


^ 


lie 


^b! 


Holy,  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth 


-~^.f^-i 


ipdrzp: 


II 


46  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

The  style  of  sacred  chanting  ordered  by  Ambrose 
had  the  great  merit  of  being  at  once  simple  and 
grand.  Its  soul  -  stirring  effects  may  be  judged, 
indeed,  from  the  exclamation  of  Bishop  Augustine 
(354-430  a.d.)  when  he  first  heard  the  Ambrosian 
chant  at  Milan  :  '  O  God,  how  I  wept  over  Thy 
hymns  of  praise.  The  sound  poured  into  mine  ears, 
and  Thy  truth  entered  my  heart.'  It  would  prove  a 
priceless  treasure  could  we  trace  some  of  this  music  ; 
as  it  is,  we  can  only  conjecture  what  was  its  character, 
and  that  of  the  hymns  which  the  saintly  Hilary 
(367  a.d.)  composed  for  the  British  churches. 

A  dark  and  terrible  reality  did  the  paganism  of  the 
Angles  and  Saxons  prove,  and  it  was  generations 
after  their  arrival  in  Britain  ere  they  ceased  to  fall 
down  to  Woden  and  Thor.  In  the  midst  of  paganism 
and  barbarism  the  British  clergy  continued  their 
work.  When  the  Saxons  poured  in  from  the  south 
and  east  coasts,  and  the  Picts  and  Scots  from  the 
north  and  west,  it  was  the  Church  only  that  was  not 
lost  in  dismay.  The  services  of  prayer  and  praise 
held  the  British  together,  but  the  impression  upon 
the  Saxons  was  slight  indeed,  despite  the  splendid 
efforts  of  valiant  preachers.  In  the  four  Saxon 
kingdoms  the  ancient  British  or  Irish-Scoto  clergy 
had  sustained  the  Christian  religion  in  those  pro- 
vinces including  Mercia,  the  Midland  counties,  Nor- 
folk, Cornwall,  Devonshire,  Somerset,  Wilts,  Hants 
and  Berks  ;  Aidan,  Bishop  of  the  Scots,  had  similarly 


OPPOSITE  BRITONS  47 

laboured  in  Northumberland,  Durham,  York,  Lanca- 
shire, Westmoreland  and  the  South  of  Scotland  ; 
while  Essex  and  Middlesex  were  cared  for  by  the 
British  prelate  Cedd  (654  a.d.),  and  all  this  religious 
enthusiasm  went  hand-in-hand  with  the  wondrous 
sway  of  sacred  tone  and  cadence. 

What  were  the  feelings  of  the  clergy,  battling 
against  the  ruthlessness  of  the  Saxons  through  so 
many  years,  can  readily  be  conjectured.  Happily,  they 
did  not  despair,  and  in  God's  time  there  were  signs, 
here  and  there,  which  encouraged  them.  A  severe 
blow  was  struck  at  the  pagan  religion  in  Britain,  for 
instance,  when  Coiffi,  declaring  himself  a  convert  to 
Christianity,  called  for  a  horse  and  rode  off  to  spear 
the  walls  of  the  neighbouring  temple  of  Godmunding- 
ham  ;  when,  writh  no  avenging  fires  descending  from 
heaven,  as  were  predicted  by  the  crowds  that  looked 
on,  he  set  to  and  burnt  the  fane  and  the  idols  con- 
tained within  it,  which  had  been  so  long  venerated 
and  feared.  Yet  how  opposite  was  the  demeanour  of 
the  chief  Maglocune,  surnamed  the  '  Dragon  of  the 
Island,'  who,  a  chronicle  says,  '  preferred  poets'  pagans 
and  satires  to  God's  lauds  sung  by  Christ's  soldiers  !' 
To  Patrick  {circa  410-492  a.d.),  the  Apostle  to 
Ireland,  we  have  already  referred  ;  but  in  the  century 
next  following  the  Gospel  labours  were  continued  by 
Columba  (521-597  a.d.),  who,  crossing  the  seas  in 
a  wicker-work  skiff  covered  with  hides,  carried  the 
first  tidings  of  Christianity  to  the  North  of  Ireland, 


48  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Iona,  and  the  south-west  portion  of  Scotland.  It 
was  an  old  bard,  Gemmain  by  name,  who  trained 
Columba,  the  Apostle  of  Caledonia,  with  the  tradi- 
tions, and  no  doubt  the  songs  and  music,  of  Ireland. 
The  bardic  gift  of  song  thus  acquired,  and  afterwards 
exercised  by  Columba,  won  the  hearts  and  ears  of 
the  Irish  people — not  less  than  did  his  preaching — 
for  they  loved  much  to  listen  to  his  singing. 

Another  great  North  of  England  missionary  was 
Aidan  {circa  600-651  a.d.),  originally  a  monk  of 
Iona,  and  later  Bishop  of  Northumbria.  He  built 
his  monastery  at  Lindisfarne,  where  King  Oswald 
granted  him  lands,  and  there  he  restored  the  services 
and  carried  on  the  good  work  begun  by  Paulinus 
(597-644  a.d.),  Apostle  of  Yorkshire.  So  that  all 
through  these  troublous  times  between  the  Britons 
and  Saxons,  the  English  Church  carried  on  its  work 
fearlessly,  and  by  its  teachings  and  methods — among 
which  was  sacred  music — it  led  the  people  on  to  that 
light  and  learning  which  conduced  not  only  to  their 
subsequent  settlement,  but  to  the  great  intellectual 
advances  of  the  country  in  future  generations. 
Without  the  Church,  music  as  an  art  might  have 
been  irretrievably  lost  at  this  period. 

England  was  now,  after  several  generations  of 
warfare  and  conquest,  more  musically  Saxon  than 
British,  and  it  was  only  in  the  remote  districts  where 
the  original  music  of  the  Briton  could  be  heard — 
districts  where  remains  of  it  smoulder  to  this  day. 


A  SAXON  GLEE  HALL  49 

In  considering  this  later  Anglo-Saxon  art,  we  are 
no  longer  upon  traditional  ground,  since  several 
contemporary  writers  can  be  quoted  who  repeatedly 
allude  to  it. 

Our  first  authority  is  that  most  ancient  fragment 
of  Teutonic  literature — the  Epic  bearing  Beowulf's 
name.     The  date  of  this  poem  is  about  520  a.d.      It 

Saxon  furnishes  a  glowing  picture  of  the  musical 
Glee  Hall.  naDit  ancj  usage  of  the  period,  proving  con- 
clusively that  music  was  assiduously  practised  and  en- 
couraged by  these  ancestors  of  ours.  There  was  the 
great  festal  hall,  wherein  drinking  and  the  gleeman's 
song  went  on.  It  was  two  hundred  feet  long  by  forty 
feet  wide,  with  a  high  roof  and  curved  gables.  It 
had  a  nave  and  narrow  side-aisles,  and  pillars  dividing 
the  aisles  from  the  nave  supported  the  central  roof. 
Thus,  it  was  not  unlike  a  modern  church  interior. 
The  nave,  or  centre,  formed  the  hall,  and  down  the 
middle  of  its  floor  ran  a  stone  hearth,  upon  which 
the  logs  blazed  and  crackled.  At  the  upper  end 
was  the  raised  seat,  or  dais,  of  the  chief,  with  a 
crossbench,  where  his  wife  and  some  familiar  thanes 
privileged  to  sit  beside  him  filled  the  cups  of  the 
guests.  On  each  side  of  the  long  stone  hearth  ran 
lines  of  tables  flanked  with  benches  and  stools, 
whereat  sat  the  chief's  hearth- sharers.  At  the  end, 
opposite  the  dais,  was  the  table  for  the  drinking- 
cups,  while  the  liquor  itself  was  stored  in  gilded 
vats,   which   stood   in  side-spaces.      Into  these  vats 

4 


50  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

the  cup-bearers  dipped  their  pails.  Sleeping  benches 
were  provided  at  the  sides  of  the  aisles,  and  alto- 
gether the  arrangements  seem  to  have  been  designed 
for  comfort  and  enjoyment.  In  such  halls  the  glee- 
men  chanted  to  their  harps.  Now  it  was  one  tune 
and  story,  now  another,  as  call  was  made  for  this  or 
that  favourite  incident.  '  The  glee- wood  was  touched, 
and  Hrothgar's  gleemen,  "  gladdeners  "  of  the  hall, 
told  of  the  works  of  Fin's  offspring,  the  tale  of  Fin 
Folcwalding,  of  Hnaef  and  Hengest,  and  the  sons 
of  Hildeburh,  burnt  by  their  mother  at  Hnaef s  pile. 
The  lay  was  sung,  the  gleeman  sang,  games  were 
begun  again,  the  noise  was  loud,  the  cup-bearers 
gave  wine  from  wondrous  cups.'  So  sings  Beowulf 
in  his  romantic  poem.  Another  rendering  puts  it  : 
'  There  was  song  joined  with  the  sound  of  music, 
the  glee-wood  was  welcomed,  the  song  frequent, 
when  Hrothgar's  scop,  the  joy  of  the  hall,  told  after 
the  sitting  at  mead  of  Fin's  offspring  seized  by 
sudden  danger  when  Healfdene's  hero,  Hnaef  of  the 
Scyldings,  fell  in  Friesland.'"" 

Ca^dmon  is  our  next  witness  to  first  English  music 
and  custom.  He  was  a  secular  monk  of  Whitby,  and 
the  author  of  poems  on  the  Creation  and  other  Bible 
subjects.  He  died  about  680  a.d.  In  his 
day  the  Anglo-Saxon  youths  were  much 
given  to  music,  and  it  was  considered  derogatory  to 
their  social  position  to  be  without  a  knowledge  of  the 

*  Beowulf. 


C.EDMON'S  MUSICAL  DISABILITIES  51 

art,  either  vocal  or  instrumental.  Caedmon  laboured 
under  this  disadvantage  :  Inspired  he  was  with 
poetic  grace  and  choice  metre,  but  he  had  made  no 
acquaintance  with  the  art  of  music — a  disadvantage 
which  he  often  deplored.  '  Caedmon  continued  in  a 
worldly  state  [in  had  it  it  scEculari\  says  Bede,  '  until 
he  arrived  at  an  advanced  age  without  learning  any 
song,  and  thus  frequently,  when  at  a  banquet  it 
was  for  merriment's  sake  determined  that  every  one 
in  his  turn  should  sing,  accompanying  himself  on 
the  harp,  when  Caedmon  saw  the  harp  approaching 
him,  he  would  arise  from  the  table  in  confusion  and 
quit  the  house.'  The  full  story  of  Caedmon's  musical 
disabilities,  and  of  his  great  poetic  talent,  is  one  of 
the  happiest  pictures  in  Bede's  panorama  of  history, 
and  may  well  be  produced  here  in  a  translation 
which  conveys  not  a  little  of  the  quaint  vein  of  the 
original  : 

'  In  the  Monasterie  of  the  Abbesse  Hilda  (614- 
680),'"  at  Whitby,  there  was  a  certaine  brother 
endewed  with  the  speciall  grace  of  God,  which  was 
wont  to  make  songes  and  meters  fitt  for  religion  and 
for  godly  meditation,  in  so  much  that  what  so  ever 
he  learned  of  the  holy  Scriptures  by  other  men's 
expounding,    he   turned  and   made  the   same   anon 

Abbess  of  Whitby,  and  daughter  of  Hereric,  nephew  of  Ed\vin> 
King  of  Northumbria.  Under  her  the  monastery  at  Whitby 
became  famous,  and  five  of  the  monks  became  bishops.  She  was 
called  the  '  Mother.' 


52  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

after  with  poeticall  and  musicall  wordes,  set  together 
with  wonderfull  swetenesse  and  melodie  in  his  own 
mother  tonofe.  With  whose  verses  and  sondes  the 
mindes  of  many  men  were  often  inflamed  to  the 
contempt  and  despysing  of  the  world,  and  desire  of 
the  everlasting*-  life  of  heaven.     After  whome  diverse 

o 

other  among  the  English  men  assayed  to  make 
godly  and  devowt  meters,  but  noman  cowlede  matche 
his  connyng  therein.  For  he  learned  this  arte  of 
singing  and  making,  not  towght  of  men,  nor  by  any 
man's  helpe,  but  he  receaved  the  gyfte  thereof  freely 
by  the  only  ayde  and  grace  of  God.  And  there- 
fore he  cowld  never  make  any  fond  or  vayne  balade, 
but  such  things  as  belonged  to  religion  and  godly 
meditation  were  only  mete  to  come  out  of  his 
religious  and  godly  mouth.  For  as  long  as  he  was 
a  secular  man,  which  was  till  he  was  well  stricken 
in  age,  he  never  had  learned  any  such  matter  of 
singinge.  In  so  much  that  sometimes  at  the  table, 
when  the  company  was  set  to  be  merry,  and  agreed 
for  the  nonse,  that  eche  man  showld  syng  in  order  at 
his  course  ;  he,  when  he  sawe  the  harpe  to  com  nere 
him,  rose  up  at  myde  of  supper,  and  gat  him  owt 
of  dorres  home  to  his  owne  howse.  And  as  he 
so  dyd  on  a  certaine  time,  getting  him  owt  of  the 
place  where  they  were  drinking  and  making  mery 
together,  to  the  stable  among  the  beastes  which  he 
had  appoynted  him  to  kepe  and  look  to  that  nighte, 
and  when  the  houre  of  slepe  came,  was  gone  his  way 


C.EDMON'S  DREAM 


S3 


quietly  to  bed,  as  he  laye,  he  dreamed  that  a 
certaine  man  stoode  by  him,  and  bad  him  God  spede, 
and  calling  him  by  his  name  sayd  to  him  Caidmon, 
I  pray  thee,  singe  me  a 
songe.  Whereto  he  mayde 
awnsvvere  and  savd,  I  can 
not  synge.  For  that  is  the 
matter  why  I  came  owt 
from  the  table  to  this  place 
here,  because  I  cowld  not 
singe.  But  yet,  quothe  he 
againe  that  spake  with  him, 
thow  hast  somewhat  to  sing 
to  me.  What  shall  I  sine:  ? 
quoth  he.  Sing,  quoth  the 
other,  the  begynning  of  all 
creatures.  At  which  answere  he  began  by  and  by 
to  singe  in  the  lawde  and  prayse  of  God  the  creatour, 
verses  which  he  had  never  heard  before,  of  which 
the  sense  and  meaning  is  thys  : — Nowe  must  we 
prayse  the  maker  of  the  heavenly  kingdome,  the  power 
of  the  creatour,  his  counsell  and  devyse,  the  workes 
and  actes  of  the  father  of  glorie  Howe  he  being  God 
cternell  was  the  maker  and  author  of  all  miracles, 
which  first  unto  the  children  of  men  created  heaven 
for  the  top  of  their  dwelling  place,  and  after  the 
omnipotent  keeper  of  mankind e  created  the  cart  lie  for 
the  flowre  thereof  This  is  the  meaning,  but  not 
the  order  of   the    wordes    which    he   sange    in    his 


SAXON    MUSICAL    INSTRUMENTS. 

{From  the  Cad  won  MS.,  Oxford.) 


54  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

sleepe.  Now  when  he  awoke  and  rose  up,  he 
remembred  still  by  harte  all  the  thinges  that  he  had 
songe  in  his  slepe,  and  dyd  straight  way  joyne 
thereto  more  wordes  in  the  same  maner  and  forme 
of  meter,  and  mayde  up  a  song  fitte  to  be  songe  and 
applyed  to  God.  And  on  the  morrow  he  came  to 
the  farmer  or  baylie  under  whom  he  was,  and  told 
him  of  the  gifte  that  he  had  receaved,  and  being 
browght  to  the  Abbesse  he  was  commaunded  in  the 
presence  of  many  learned  men  to  tell  his  dreame 
and  rehearse  the  song,  that  it  might  by  the  judg- 
ment of  them  all  be  examyned  and  tryed  what  or 
whence  the  thing  was  which  he  reported.  And  it 
seemed  to  them  all  that  some  heavenly  grace  and 
gifte  was  graunted  him  of  our  Lorde.  For  more 
triall  whereof  they  recited  unto  him  the  processe  of 
some  holy  storie  or  example,  willing  him,  if  he 
cowld,  to  tourne  the  same  into  meter  and  verse. 
Which  he  took  upon  him  to  doo  and  went  his  way  ; 
and  on  the  morowe  after  came  againe  and  brought 
the  same  made  in  very  good  meter  which  they  had 
willed  him  to  doo.  Whereupon  straightway  the 
Abbesse  acknowledging  and  embracing  this  grace 
and  gifte  of  God  in  the  man,  instructed  and  exhorted 
him  to  forsake  the  world  and  to  take  the  monasticall 
lyfe  and  profession  upon  him.  Which  he  did,  and 
was  therefore  by  the  commandement  of  the  Abbesse 
placed  in  the  company  of  the  bretherne.' 

This  house  was  one  of  the  first  double  monasteries 


A   GREAT  MUSICAL  LIGHT  55 

which  multiplied  so  much  in  England  for  many  years 
afterwards.  They  were  composed  of  nuns  and 
monks,  so  that  vocal  resources  for  excellent  singing 
were  always  at  hand.  From  this  fact,  therefore,  we 
may  conclude  that  the  Church  services  and  singing 
were  on  a  much  grander  scale  than  is  commonly 
imagined.  One  especial  feature  of  the  religious 
practices  was  the  Lmis  Perennis,  or  Service  of  Per- 
petual Praise,  kept  up  by  seven  choirs  of  nuns,  who 
relieved  each  other  in  succession.  Nor  were  the 
doings  of  such  ministering  singers  forgotten.  The 
Liturgy  contained  a  special  clause  for  them  :  '  Ora 
pro  populo,  interveni  pro  clero,  intercede  pro  devote 
femineo  sexu? 

Now  was  a  bright  light  to  burst  forth  from  the 
gloom  of  the  far  North  of  England.  Suddenly  we 
are  face  to  face  with  a  noble  figure  in  Early  English 
ecclesiastical  history,  one  whose  life  and  example  in 
Northumbria  in  those  dark  days  are  fittingly  re- 
membered and  honoured  in  ours,  especially  as  he 
was  the  instructor  of  the  beloved  Bede.  This  was 
Benedict  Benedict  Biscop  (628  -  690  a.d.),  a  rich 
Biscop.  Anglo-Saxon  nobleman,  and  one  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  Benedictines  who  fostered  the  growth 
of  the  Gregorian  chant  in  England.  Biscop,  in 
obedience  to  the  custom  of  the  times  for  the  clergy 
to  go  to  Rome  for  studying  and  acquiring  music. 
had  visited  that  city  no  less  than  five  times,  and 
was  highly  regarded  by  Pope  Agatho  for  his  perfect 


56  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

knowledge  of  Church  music.  In  678  a.d.  we  find 
him  sending  to  Rome  for  singers  versed  in  the 
Cantus  Romanus  for  York  Cathedral.  Bede  wrote 
the  Life  of  Benedict  Biscop,  and  does  not  forget  to 
add  the  tribute  that  it  was  owing  mainly  to  his  exer- 
tions that  the  Roman  chant  became  so  well  known, 
and  firmly  rooted,  in  the  monasteries  of  Durham, 
Gerwy,  and  Wearmouth.  In  a  neighbourhood 
where  at  an  old  temple  of  Apollo  the  people  were 
worshipping  the  heathen  Sun -god,  he  built  the 
monasteries  of  Bishop  Wearmouth  and  J  arrow,  and 
beautified  them  with  relics,  paintings,  stained-glass, 
illuminated  Bibles,  and  Service-books  which  he 
brought  from  Rome.  Biscop  was  himself  head  of 
the  Jarrow  House,  where  Bede  succeeded  him. 

Bede  stands  out  prominently  among  the  first 
English  authors  who  have  borne  testimony  in 
their  writings  to  Anglo  -  Saxon  musical  methods. 
The  '  Father  '  of  English  Church  historians, 
familiarly  known  as  the  '  Venerable '  Bede 
(672-735  a.d.),  was  born  just  before  Caedmon  died. 
The  educational  system  of  the  period  was  divided  into 
four  divisions,  of  which  music  formed  one,  and  Bede 
was  among  the  recipients  of  this  liberal  education. 
He  wrote  a  musical  treatise  in  two  parts — '  Musica 
Theoretica'  and  'Musica  Pratica.'  The  former 
treated  of  the  division  of  the  octave,  consonant  and 
dissonant  intervals,  etc.,  the  latter  of  notation  and 
measure,  as  these  existed  before  the  inventions  of 


THE   VENERABLE  BEDE 


57 


Guido  and  Franco.  Bede,  broad-minded  and  sweetly 
disposed  as  he  was,  takes  a  lofty  and  beautiful 
estimate  of  the  art.  According  to  the  Venerable 
Presbyter,  '  Music  is  the  most  worthy,  courteous, 
pleasant,  joyous  and  lovely  of  all  knowledge  ;  it 
makes  a  man  gentlemanly  in  his  demeanour,  pleasant, 
courteous,  joyous,  lovely,  for  it  acts  upon  his  feel- 
ings. .  .  .  Music  encourages  us  to  bear  the  heaviest 
afflictions,  administers  consolation  in  every  diffi- 
culty, refreshes  the  broken 
spirit,  removes  headache 
and  sorrow,  expels  foul 
spirits,  and  cures  crossness 
and  melancholy.' 

Priest  and  monk,  he  was 
an  indefatigable  worker  for 
the  Cross,  never  wearying 
whether  in  the  schools,  his 
study,  or  in  the  performance 
of  daily  religious  ministra- 
tions. Anxious  to  secure  sound  musical  training 
for  the  scholars  at  J  arrow,  to  which  monastery 
he  had  been  appointed  by  his  preceptor,  Bene- 
dict Biscop,  Bede  not  only  devoted  his  personal 
energies  to  this  end,  but  sought  outside  aid.  Ac- 
quiescing, no  doubt,  in  such  earnest  representations, 
Pope  Agatho  despatched  John,  Precentor  of  St. 
Peter's  at  Rome,  to  teach  singing  to  the  monks  of 
Wearmouth  and  Jarrow,  an  opportunity  for  improve- 


UeNSRHDLd 


Baua 


58  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


ment  of  which  the  music-masters  in  the  North 
diligently  availed  themselves.  The  decision  of  the 
Synod  of  Whitby,  held  in  664  a.d.,  in  favour  of  the 
Roman  Liturgy,  necessarily  benefited  the  Roman 
music,  and  Celtic  Church  music  is  afterwards  heard 
of  but  little.  John  arrived  in  England  in  the  year 
680  a.d.,  from  which  time  the  knowledge  of  sacred 
music  rapidly  increased  in  the  North.  The  monks 
recognised  in  him  a  skilful  teacher,  so  much  so  that 
the  Abbots  of  Wearmouth  and  Jarrow  prevailed  upon 
him  to  open  music-schools  in  the  various  districts  of 
Northumbria.*  Another  Papal  singing-master  who 
came  here  later  was  Paul  the  Deacon  {circa  720- 
800  a.d.).  Yet  another  singing-master  in  North- 
umbria,   whose   name  has    come  down   to   us,   was 

*  This  singing-master  wrote  Pope  Gregory's  Life,  '  Vita  S. 
Gregorii,'  in  which  he  warmly  rates  the  Germans  and  French, 
whom  he  had  met  probably  at  the  Court  of  Charlemagne,  for  being 
unable  to  properly  sing  the  Gregorian  chant.  '  Wholly  unable  to 
express  its  sweetness,'  writes  the  aggrieved  voice-trainer,  '  they 
injure  it  by  barbarous  changes,  suggested  either  by  their  natural 
ferocity  or  inconstancy  of  disposition.  Their  figures  were  gigantic, 
and,  when  they  sang,  it  was  rather  thunder  than  musical  tones. 
Their  rude  throats,  instead  of  the  inflexions  of  pleasing  melody, 
formed  such  rough  sounds  as  resembled  the  noise  of  a  cart  jolting 
down  a  pair  of  stairs.'  As  there  is  no  blame  attached  to  the 
English  singers,  we  may  fairly  assume  that  they  secured  good 
results  from  their  singing. 

The  following  are  two  specimens  of  the  Gregorian  chant 
harmonized :  the  one  is  from  the  solemn  Miserere,  which  is 
chanted  in  the  Roman  Catholic  service  during  the  Holy  Week ; 
the  other  is  the  beginning  of  the  Easter  Hymn,  which  is  of  a  more 
lively  character  : — 


PAPAL  SINGIXG-MASTERS 


59 


Edde,  surnamed  Stephen,  who  was  sent  thither  out 
of  Kent  by  Wilfred  the  Primate,  709  a.d. 

Thus,  the  Roman  service  method,  and  the  manner 
of  rendering  the  Gregorian  music,  came  from  the 
fountain-head,  thanks  to  the  wisdom  and  foresight  of 
Benedict  and  Bede.  Productive  of  so  much  OTtod, 
too,  was  this  step,  that  the  example  was  followed  by 
the  missionaries  in  other  parts  of  the  island.  As 
Augustine  and  his  successors  proceeded  in  their 
work,  churches  were  built,  and  the  need  for  clergy 
increased  accordingly.  This  demand  was  met  by  a 
steady  flowing  in  of  prelates  and  other  Churchmen 
from  Rome,  who  beincr  all  more  or  less  familiar  with 
Gregorian  music,  also  steadily  advanced  the  cause 
of  Church  music  throughout  England.     Wherever  a 

THE    MISERERE. 


Mis-e-re-re 


me     -     1 


De  -  us,  secundum 


Mis-e-re-re 


me     -     1 


De  •  us         secundum 


magnam         mi  -  ser  -  i  -  cor  -  di  -   am       tu     -     am. 


magnam         mi  -  ser  -  i  -  cor  -  di  -  am       tu     -     am. 


6o 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


monastery  was  founded — and  pious  souls  of  the 
time  reared  them  with  almost  prodigal  splendour — 
a  music-school  was  attached  with  conveniences  for 


THE    EASTER    HYMN. 


— 1- 

-       4.        ■ 

in       ♦       * 

H       *       *      1 

mm 

B               •       ■ 

— H         n 

... 

o 

fi  -  li   -    i 

et           fi     -     li    - 

x,     Rex     ce  -  les  -  tis, 

f-J-          n 

m                                                ™       ™ 

♦    * 

•      ■ 

♦        M 

♦ ♦       ■ 

O  fi  -  li    -    i         et       fi     -     li     -     se,         Rex     ce  -  les  -  tis, 


;  ■  *  '  *-*t 


_♦  »  *_ 


Rex     glo     -     ri  -  se,     morte       sur  -  rex     -     it         ho     -     di    -    e 


Qi 


W-^ 

»  ♦  * — t 


-■ — B- 


'^•- 


Rex     glo    -    ri  -  re,     morte         sur    -    rex    -    it         ho    -    di  -  e 


Jbb  +  »-iljE| 


Al 


le 


lu  -  ia,       Al-le  -  lu-ia,     Al-le     -     lu-ie 


+ 


Al      -      le     -     lu 


ia,  Al-le-lu-ia,         Al-le  -  lu-ia, 


Z=ji=Ml^ 


Al 


le 


lu     -     ia. 


9s 


I 
I 


Al 


le      -      lu  -  ia 


DEATH  OF  BEDE  61 

housing  as  well  as  for  training  the  singers  in  the 
proper  rendering  of  the  Mass  and  evensong  music. 
An  obstacle,  however,  was  the  difficulty  of  finding 
competent  teachers  outside  Rome,  which  was  not 
overcome  until  the  first  musical  trainine-school  was 
opened  at  Canterbury. 

Every  good  work  is  hindered,  and  a  day  came 
when  a  dark  cloud  spread  over  Jarrow.  A  higher 
call  awaited  the  saintly  servant — the  last  scene  of 
Death  whose  life  furnishes  a  pattern  day  for  all 
of  Bede.  earnest  workers,  and  serves  also  as  an  index 
to  the  regular  life  within  the  monastery  when  Bede 
was  its  head.  It  was  Ascension  Day  (May  26,  735), 
when,  distressed  and  exhausted  with  asthma,  Bede 
had  all  but  concluded  his  translation  of  St.  John's 
Gospel  for  the  use  of  the  people.  '  In  the  evening  his 
boy-scribe  (Cuthbert)  said  to  him  :  "  One  sentence, 
dear  master,  is  left  unfinished."  He  bade  him  write 
quickly.  Soon  the  boy  announced  that  it  was 
finished.  "  True,"  the  dying  man  said,  "  it  is  finished. 
Take  mine  head  between  thy  hands  and  raise  me. 
Full  fain  would  I  sit  with  my  face  to  my  holy 
oratory,  where  I  was  ever  wont  to  pray,  that  sitting 
so  I  may  call  on  my  Father."  And  so  he  sat  on  the 
floor  of  his  cell,  and  chanted,  "  Glory  be  to  the 
Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost." 
And  as  he  breathed  the  words  "  the  Holy  Ghost  "  he 
died.'  Thus  passed  to  the  eternal  habitations  this 
priest-teacher,   who  had  spent  nearly  the   whole  of 


62  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

his  life  in  the  monastery  at  J  arrow  '  observing  the 

monastic  rule  and  the  daily  ministry  of  singing  in 

the  church  '  : 

1  O  Venerable  Bede  ! 
The  saint,  the  scholar,  from  a  circle  freed 
Of  toil  stupendous.' 

Wordsworth. 

The  Church  having  spread  her  loving  hands  over 
the  land,  men,  large  in  mind  like  the  Venerable  Bede, 
were  to  rise  up  to  carry  on  her  work  in  England. 
Alcuin  (735-804  a.d.),  born  in  the  year  of 
Bede's  death,  became  a  leading  musical 
writer  and  ecclesiastic.  He  followed  in  Bede's  foot- 
steps. As  a  boy  he  entered  St.  Mary's  Abbey, 
York,  and  studied  under  Egbert,  Archbishop  of 
York,  who  gave  him  a  tonsure  and  ordained  him 
deacon.  He  became  well  versed  in  music  and  other 
liberal  learning — so  much  so  that,  after  succeeding 
Egbert  at  York,  the  Emperor  Charlemagne  begged 
him  to  accept  a  permanent  appointment  as  head  of 
the  Palatine  schools,  one  great  object  that  Charle- 
magne had  being  to  disseminate  Gregory's  system 
of  music  throughout  the  churches  and  schools  of 
France  and  Germany.  Alcuin's  labours  have  been 
well  set  out  in  the  words  of  a  German  poet,  who, 
after  recounting  Britain's  indebtedness  to  her  son, 
turns  aside  to  sin  or  ; 

'  Nor  smaller  tokens  of  esteem  from  France 
Alcuinas  claims  who  durst  himself  advance 
Single  against  whole  troops  of  ignorance. 


SAXON  PART-SINGING  63 


'Twas  he  transported  Britain's  richest  ware, 
Language  and  arts,  and  kindly  taught  them  here. 
With  him,  his  master  Bede  shall  ever  live, 
And  all  the  learning  he  engross'd  survive.' 

We  are  informed  by  Bede  that  in  the  beginning 

of  the  eighth  century  the  custom  of  the  Saxons  here 

was   to   indulge   in  social   and   domestic   sinoqnof  in 

their  own  language,  accompanying  their 

ocixon 
Part-sing-    singing  with  the  harp.      Many  years  later 

we  meet  with  another  musical  authority, 

Giraldus  Cambrensis  (born   1147,  died   1220).      He 

was    Archdeacon    and    afterwards    Bishop    of    St. 

David's,  and  although  not  altogether  to  be  depended 

upon    in    literary    matters,    remains    nevertheless    a 

valuable  chronicler  concerning  an  age  when  writers 

upon   contemporary   social   life  were  scarce  indeed. 

He  wrote  and  addressed  his  '  Gemma  Ecclesiastica,' 

or  '  Jewel  of  the  Church,'  to  the  Welsh  clergy  ;  and 

in  this  book  occurs  an  anecdote  which  shows  that 

even   in   those  days  the  catchy  vein   of  a  popular 

song  was  apt   to  obtrude   itself  at   not  always   the 

right  time  or  place.      Gerald  opposing  the  popular 

custom  of  dancing  and  singing  profane  songs  in  the 

churchyards  on  saints'  days — a  form  of  amusement 

which   had    grown    into    a   nuisance  —  says    that    a 

priest    of   Worcester,    who    had    been    hearing   the 

refrain   of  a  song  all  night  in   such  dances   in   the 

churchyard,    when    he   stood    next   morning   at  the 

altar,  in  full  canonicals,  instead  of  proceeding  with 


64  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


the  Dominus  Vobiscum,  chanted  in  a  loud  voice,  to 
the  scandal  of  the  congregation,  the  refrain  of  the 
song  that  had  haunted  him  : 

*  Swete  lamman  dhin  are.' 

William  of  Norhall,  the  Bishop,  hearing  of  this, 
publicly  anathematized  that  song  by  synod  and 
chapter,  and  forbade  it  ever  to  be  sung  in  his  diocese. 
How  excellent  a  thing  if  not  a  few  of  the  popular 
airs  of  the  present  day  could  be  publicly  accursed  in 
the  same  way  !  Naturally,  both  the  professional  and 
amateur  musician  are  chiefly  interested  in  Giraldus 
for  the  musical  information  he  affords  them.  In 
praise  of  his  native  country  this  early  English  anti- 
quary and  scholar  says  :  '  Britain,  although  divided 
from  the  rest  of  the  world,  has  always  been  partial  to 
bards,  among  the  most  celebrated  of  whom  are  to 
be  reckoned  Plennydd,  Oron  and  Gildas,'  names 
which  have  already  come  under  our  notice.  Giraldus 
refers  especially  to  an  Anglo-Saxon  concert,  and 
describes  the  mode  of  singing — a  style  which  had 
obtained,  probably,  among  the  British  long  before 
that  time.  '  In  their  musical  concerts,'  he  says, 
'  they  do  not  all  sing  in  unison,  as  is  the  custom  of 
other  nations,  but  in  different  parts,  so  that  as  many 
as  you  see  individuals,  so.  many  melodies  and  various 
parts  you  hear,  all  ultimately  smoothly  uniting  under 
the  softness  of  B  flat  into  consonance  and  organic 
melody  [i.e.,  in  harmony].  And  moreover,  in  the 
northern  parts  of  Britain,  beyond  the  H umber,   in 


EARLY  WELSH  PART-SINGING  65 


the  neighbourhood  of  York,  the  Angles  in  singing 
employ  a  similar  kind  of  symphonious  harmony,  using, 
however,  only  two  parts,  one  deeply  murmuring  in 
the    bass,    the    other   delightfully    warbling-    in    the 
treble.      Nor  is  this  an  acquired  custom  among  the 
nations,  but  by  long  usage  is,  as  it  were,  converted 
into  their  nature  ;  and  has  now  taken  such  root  in 
the    constituent    prejudices    of    both    peoples,    that 
neither   among    the    former,   where  the    custom    of 
singing    in    several   parts   prevails,   nor  among    the 
latter,  where  they  sing  in  two  parts,  can  a  simple 
melody  be  well  performed.     What,  moreover,  is  more 
remarkable,  children  from  their  earliest  years  observe 
the    same    custom.       Since,     however,    among    the 
Angles  this  method  is  not  universally  observed,  but 
only  by  the  more  northern  inhabitants,   I  conceive 
that  they  have  borrowed  their  method  of  singing,  as 
well  as  speaking,  from  the  Danes  and  Norwegians, 
who  were  more  frequently  accustomed  to  occupy  as 
well  as  longer  to  retain  possession  of  those  parts  of 
the  island.' 

'  This,'  to  quote  no  less  an  authority  than  that 
learned  antiquary,  the  late  Mr.  William  Chappell, 
'  may  fairly  be  taken  as  evidence  that  part-singing 
was  common  in  Wales,  or  that  at  least  they  made 
descant  to  their  tunes,  in  the  same  way  that  singers 
did  to  the  plain-song  or  canto  fermo  of  the  Church 
at  the  same  period  ;  also  that  singing  in  two  parts 
was  common   in   the    North    of  England,    and    that 

5 


66  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

children  tried  to  imitate  it.      Burney  and   Hawkins 
think  that  what  Giraldus  says  of  the  singing  of  the 
people  in  Northumberland,  in  two  parts,  is  reconcil- 
able to  probability,  because  of  the  schools  established 
there  in  the  time  of  Bede  ;  but  Burney  doubts  his 
account  of  the  Welsh   singing  in  many   parts,   and 
makes  this  "turba  canentium  "*  to  be  of  the  common 
people,  adding,  "  we  can  have  no  exalted  idea  of  the 
harmony  of  an  untaught  crowd."     These,  however, 
are  his  own  inferences.     Giraldus  does  not  say  that 
the  singers  were  untaught,  or  that  they  were  of  the 
common  people.     As  he  is  describing  what  was  the 
custom  in  his  own  time,  not  what  had  taken  place  a 
century  before,  there  seems  no  sufficient  ground  for 
disbelieving  his  statement,  and  least  of  all  should 
they  who  are  of  the  opinion  that  all  musical  know- 
ledge  was  derived   from  the  monasteries  call  it  in 
question,    since,   as  already  shown,   part-music   had 
then  existed  in  the  Church,  in  the  form  of  descant, 
for  three  centuries. '+ 

This  Descant — the  forerunner  of  counterpoint  and 
prick-song,  or  written  music — it  may  be  well  to  add, 

was  the  first  ecclesiastical  harmony,  and 
Descant.  ... 

consisted    originally    of    extemporaneous 

singing   by  the   more  skilled   musicians   in   fourths, 

fifths,  and  octaves,  above  and  below  the  plain-song 

melody,  or  tune  of  the  Church  ;  and  although  in  its 

*  Bede's  Latin. 

t  '  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time  '  (Chappell). 


DESCANT 


67 


original  sense  it  implied  only  singing  in  two  parts, 
it  had  more  considerable  advances  in  the  ninth 
century,  towards  the  end  of  which  we  find  specimens 
still  existing,  of  harmony  in  three  and  four  parts. 


SPECIMENS  OF  DESCANT. 


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■*}:-Z32.— &zzG'zzL&~e—'s> — & — &~  - 


& 


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Cantus. 


Vr^      m                                                                                      1 

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11      rf                                                                                                                                -   - 

Translation. 


I 


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fn- 


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68  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

It  would   be   difficult   to  determine  when  such  a 

natural  art  as  that  of  adding  another  vocal  part  to 

one  that  was  already  known  did  not  exist   in   this 

country.      Man  is  a  harmonious  creature, 
An  J 

Unwritten  who  must  have  been  endued  from  the 
beginning  with  the  faculty  of  forming 
harmony  with  his  voice  —  just  as  the  merest 
children  to-day  can  add  what  they  term  '  seconds ' 
to  a  tune  —  albeit  he  was  far  removed  from  the 
age  when  musical  thoughts  could  find  literal  ex- 
pression through  signs  which  could  be  understood 
not  only  by  their  creator,  but  also  by  all  to  come 
after  him.  Thus,  little  reliance  can  be  placed  upon 
deductions  concerning  the  extent  to  which  music 
was,  or  was  not,  practised  in  this  country  when  con- 
clusions are  based  solely  upon  what  can  be  proved 
by  actual  manuscript  evidence.  That  before  the 
age  when  writing  became  known  and  was  practised, 
there  existed  here  a  species  of  natural  vocal  music 
of  a  truly  harmonious  order,  part-music  more  exten- 
sive and  complete  than  is  reflected  in  any  manu- 
script for  several  centuries  after,  is,  to  our  mind,  as 
reasonable  a  matter  for  acceptance  and  belief  as 
would  be  the  proposition  that  at  that  period  the 
winds  were  blowing  and  the  trees  growing.  Having 
an  existence,  then,  it  is  of  little  moment  by  whom 
or  where  it  was  cultivated. 

We  are  indebted,   doubtless,   to   the  monasteries 
for  all  that  we  possess  relating  to  our  earliest  music 


UNWRITTEN  NATIVE  ART  69 

but  that  for  several  centuries  there  was  a  great  un- 
written   art    growth   which    has    been    forgotten  or 
neglected  by  the  first  musical  writers  and  theorists 
can  scarcely  be  refuted.     Secular  music  must  have 
been  much  more  varied  and  extensive  than  any  docu- 
ments of  the  period  suggest,  since  it  was  the  art  of 
writing  and  musical  notation  which  were  so  little  ad- 
vanced,  not  the  native  enthusiasm  for  music.     The 
inventions  of  Guido  and  Franco  had  hardly  become 
felt,  and  for  long  after  this  time  musical  notation  was 
in  such  an  imperfect  state  that  it  used  to  take  nine 
or  ten  years  to  acquire  a  fair  knowledge  of  it.     The 
capacity  of  our  ancestors,  the  Briton  and  Saxon,  to 
provide  musical  enjoyment  for  themselves  and  those 
around    them  would   be  considerably  more  than   is 
indicated  by  any  musical  data  of  the  time,   for  the 
first  writings  show  only  the  state  of  music  as  it  was 
growing  into  a  science,  capable  of  being  expressed 
by  a  notation.    Notation  long  afterwards  represented 
almost  solely  the  music  of  the  cloister,   for  secular 
music  found  little  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  clergy 
and  those  who  occupied  the  monasteries. 

We  must  not  fall  into  the  error,  then,  of  suppos- 
ing that  only  such  music  obtained  during  the  early 
centuries  as  is  represented  by  specimens  to  hand. 
These  refer  entirely  to  the  scientific  art  of  our 
country,  not  to  the  natural,  innate,  harmonious 
expression  of  our  forefathers,  which  no  musically- 
learned  one  has  transmitted  to  us,  and  of  which  we 


70  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

should  have  known  nothing,  save  for  such  fortunate 
digressions  in  the  current  annals  as  are  afforded 
here  and  there  in  the  strains  of  the  bards  and  scops, 
and  in  the  writing  of  such  chroniclers  as  Bede, 
Giraldus,  and  others. 

The  ballad,  for  instance,  was  a  favourite  musical 
form  with  the  people  at  this  time.  The  English  have 
always  been  a  ballad -loving  people,  and  even  the 

Saxon    present-day  tendency  towards  this  class  of 

Ballad.  music  does  not  exceed  the  passion  displayed 
for  it  eight  hundred  years  ago.  In  them  was  pre- 
served much  of  the  country's  history  and  glory. 
William  of  Malmesbury  (1095-1 143),  who  wrote  '  De 
Gestis  Regum  Anglorum,'  and  had  access  to  English 
historical  materials  now  lost,  remarks  :  '  Thus  far  I 
have  written  from  trustworthy  testimony.  That 
which  follows  I  have  learnt  more  from  old  ballads, 
popular  through  succeeding  times,  than  from  books 
written  expressly  for  the  information  of  posterity. 
I  have  subjoined  them  not  to  defend  their  veracity, 
but  to  put  the  reader  in  possession  of  all  I  know.' 

Concerning  the  music  which  accompanied  the 
Anglo-Saxon  ballad,  little  is  definitely  known.  No 
threads  of  such  secular  music  exist,  and  all  that 
authorities  can  do  is  to  point  to  remnants  of  the 
Church  music  of  such  early  times,  which  afford  the 
only  clue  to  the  probable  melody  of  the  ballad  or 
narratory  story.  In  this  sacred  music,  consisting 
chiefly  of  hymns  with  Latin  words,  regulated  tune  is 


ENGLISH  MUSIC  FACTORS  71 


definable — all  pointing  to  the  existence  of,  and  an 
acquaintanceship  with,  a  systematic  scale.  So  that 
at  the  period  which  we  are  considering  there  were  at 
least  three  musical  elements  at  work  in  this  England 
of  ours,  namely  :  (a)  the  old  British  spirit,  which 
still  lingered  in  the  extreme  parts  of  England,  and 
especially  of  Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ireland;  (/3)  the 
home  tastes  and  musical  fashions  of  the  Saxons  or 
English,  which  were  to  be  replaced  eventually  by 
(y)  the  musical  means  and  modes  of  the  new  genera- 
tions of  Englishmen.  These  were  the  parts  out  of 
which  the  important  musical  fabric  of  British  art  of 
to-day  were  to  spring.  One  more  powerful  factor — 
Norman  art  and  influence — was  presently  to  step  in, 
and  the  solid,  if  mixed,  foundation  of  our  country's 
musical  life  and  practice  was  permanently  provided. 

Principal  Authorities. 

'  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle.' 

'  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time  '     Chappell. 

'  History  of  England  '  Lingard. 

'  History  of  Music  '  -         -         -  -     Burney. 

'  English  Writers '     -  Morley. 

'  English  Songs '  Ritson. 

'  History  of  the  Anglo-Saxons'-  -     Sharon  Turner. 

'History  of  Wales  '  -         -         -  -     Williams. 

'  Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry  '     Percy. 

'  Music  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  '   -  -     Wackerbarth. 

'  Saxons  in  England  '  Kemble. 

1  Historia  Ecclesiastica '     -         -  -     Bede. 

'Constitutional  History  '  -         -  -     Stubbs. 


CHAPTER  III. 
BARDS,   BARDISM  AND  SCALDS. 

Csesar's  References  to  Music — Bardic  Triads — The  Eisteddfod,  or 
Session  of  Bards — Famous  British  Bards — Bardism  and  the 
British  Administration  —  Electing  the  Bards — Vortigern's 
Example — Arthur  and  other  Bards— The  Scop— Widsith — 
Specimens  of  his  Songs — Deor — Scalds — Their  Origin  and 
Relative  Orders — Taliesin — A  Musical  Competition  at  Con- 
way— The  Leges  Wallica,  or  Welsh  Laws  and  the  Bards — 
Howel — Privileges  and  Rank  of  the  Bards — Secular  Music 
in  Alfred's  Reign — The  Saxon  Harp — Its  Manufacture — Poet 
and  Musician  sundered  in  England. 

Caesar  mentions  British  music  here  and  there  in  his 
'Commentaries.'  There  appear  to  have  been  three 
musical  officers,  or  privileged  bards,  attached  to  the 
British  King's  palace,  and  enjoying  the 
favour  and  confidence  of  the  ruler.  They 
were  the  Harp  Bard  of  the  King,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  communicate  every  new  song  to  the  Sovereign  ; 
the  Crwth,  or  Poetic  Bard  ;  and  the  Ensign  Bard, 
who  recounted  the  genealogical  tables  and  deeds  of 
Britain's  famous  sons.  They  stood  the  judges  of  the 
country,  and  administered  the  law.     At  some  even 


BARDIC  TRIADS  73 


earlier  time  they  must  have  been  held  in  really  high 
esteem,  since  an  ancient  Triad  singles  them  out  : 

'  Three  men  there  are  of  same  regard : 
A  king,  a  harper,  and  a  bard.' 

Tacitus — and  his  Britons  are  not  the  savages  of 
Caesar's  narrative  (205-276  a.d.) — relates  that  the 
ancient  Britons  stored  their  history  and  annals  in 
verse,  sung  to  the  music  of  the  harp.  As  authentic 
records  of  early  facts,  customs,  etc.,  these  bardic 
songs  and  poems,  then,  are  invaluable,  for  the  laws 
strictly  forbade  the  bards  to  introduce  fable,  or  to 
pervert  the  truth  in  their  narrations,  under  penalty 
of  fine,  imprisonment,  loss  of  dignity,  and  even 
death. 

The  Bardic  Triads — fragments  of  written  evidence 
which  are  treasured  in  museums  and  libraries — record 
the  names  of  the  principal  among  these  ancient 
bards,  and  their  characteristics.  These  memorials 
are  in  the  Welsh  language,  some  of  them  as  early 
as  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  centuries,  and 
were  originally  oral  traditions,  which  anciently  were 
sung  by  generations  of  bards  at  their  gatherings  : 

'  But  heed,  ye  bards,  that  for  the  sign  of  onset 
Ye  sound  the  ancientest  of  all  your  rhymes, 
Whose  birth  tradition  notes  not,  nor  who  fram'd 
Its  lofty  strains.'* 

The  Welsh  national  meeting,  entitled  Eisteddfod, 
or  session  of  bards,  had  its  origin  in  these  remote 

*  '  Caractacus  '  (Mason). 


74  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


times,  when  the  bardic  or  Druidical  institution  pre- 
vailed in  this  island  in  its  primitive  purity.  The 
most  ancient  notices  on  this  subject  now  extant 
The  Eis-  occur  m  ^e  Triads  of  Dyvnwal  Moclmud, 
teddfod.  a  British  lawgiver,  who  is  thought  to 
have  lived  about  three  or  four  centuries  before  the 
Christian  era.  In  these  early  records  the  meeting 
in  question  is  minutely  described,  under  the  name  of 


KEMAINS  OF   DRUIDS*   TEMPLE,    STONEHENGE. 

Gorsedd  y  Beirdd,  or  Congress  of  the  Bards,  and  is 
numbered  among  the  national  privileged  assemblies 
of  the  Cymry.  The  Gorsedd  was  not  originally 
confined  to  the  cultivation  of  music  and  poetry,  but 
had  an  ulterior  and  more  important  aim  in  the 
preservation  of  bardic  traditions,  the  commemoration 
of  illustrious  and  praiseworthy  deeds,  and  a  general 
promotion  of  religious,  moral,  and  scientific  instruc- 


THE  GORSEDD  75 


tion.  Among  the  places  in  this  island  which  were 
selected  for  the  occasion,  Salisbury  Plain  is  con- 
spicuous, as  the  stupendous  Druidical  remains,  still 
to  be  found  there,  abundantly  testify.  Other  pro- 
bable localities  were  the  island  of  Bardsey,  the 
Hebrides,  i.e.,  yEbudae,  or  Ovates  Islands,  from  the 
class  of  Druids  called  Eubates  or  Ovates,  who  sang 
the  sacred  and  prophetic  hymns. 

How  lone  the  Gorsedd  continued  to  retain  its 
original  constitution  and  purpose  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained with  any  degree  of  precision.  The  wars  and 
intestine  feuds,  consequent  on  the  successive  in- 
vasions of  the  Romans  and  Saxons,  were  fatal  to 
the  exercise  of  a  practice  that  was  peculiarly  founded 
on  principles  of  national  peace  and  tranquillity.  For 
some  centuries,  therefore,  we  are  without  any  par- 
ticular records  of  these  musical  meetings.  How- 
ever, as  the  ancient  Welsh  poets  have  frequent 
allusions  to  them,  and  as  the  important  privileges 
of  the  bards  are  recognised  as  well  by  the  Saxon 
writer  Bede  as  by  the  laws  of  Howel,  or  Hywel, 
compiled  two  centuries  later,  we  may  conclude  that 
the  right  of  holding  these  harmonious  congresses 
was  in  these  times  frequently  exercised. 

Alawn's  fame  was  long  preserved  in  the  locality 
of  Alawr  Beirdd  in  Anglesey,  named  after  him. 
Concerning  Gwron  there  is  scanty  account.  These 
4  Fundamental '  bards,  as  they  have  also  been  called, 
are  specially  honoured,  because  they  secured  official 


76  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

recognition  for  their  order  long  before  the  idea  was 
revived  in  the  minstrelsy  age.  There  had  been 
bards  like  Tydain — Father  of  the  Muse — who  first 
established  British  vocal  tradition  into  system  and 
order,  but  hitherto  no  privilege  or  distinction  was 
accorded  to  musicians.  Once  under  the  segis  of 
the  government,  however,  they  became  a  recognised 
and  legally  protected  body,  as  did  their  successors 
the  minstrels. 

Little  wonder  that  for  several  centuries  the  singer 
and  harpist  won  the  hearts  and  ears  of  the  natives 
in  all  parts  of  early  Britain.  Their  theme  was 
British  storing  in  its  note  and  drift.  It  told  of 
Bards.  Tydain,  whose  tomb  was  the  summit  of 
Bryn  Aren  in  Merionydd  ;  of  Gwyddon  Guabebon, 
'  the  first  in  the  world  to  make  vocal  song  ' — as  their 
tremendous  faith  had  it ;  of  Hu,  surnamed  the  Mighty, 
whose  fame  spread  over  the  island  of  Iona,  and  was 
not  forgotten  as  long  afterwards  as  the  time  of  St. 
Columba,  Apostle  of  the  Picts,  in  the  sixth  century 
— all  illustrious  Cambrians,  'ministers  of  song,'  and 
conservators  of  traditions  as  loved  of  the  natives  as 
the  true  soil  on  which  they  stood  erect. 

The  warriors  of  the  island,  too,  had  their  deeds 
sung  thus  early.  There  was  Gwrgan  Varvdrwch — 
the  Bushy-bearded  Songster — not  less  renowned  in 
music  than  in  war,  a  reputed  British  king,  who 
flourished  some  375  years  B.C.,  and  is  credited  to 
have  founded  the  city  of  Cambridge,  where  he  and 
his    son   Gwythelin    set    up    their    regal    seat ;    also 


SOME  BRITISH  BARDS  77 


Cubelyn,  twenty-third  King  of  Britain  (348  B.C.), 
whose  skill  in  music  Caius  celebrated  ;  Blegywryd, 
King  of  Britain  190  years  B.C.,  who  excelled  all  that 
lived  before  him  both  as  a  singer  and  musical  per- 
former ;  Eidiol  Gleddyfeud,  or  Ruddy  Sword  — 
another  warrior  bard  and  arch-druid,  whose  nick- 
name, '  Ruddy  Sword,'  refers  probably  to  his  duties 
at  the  sacrifices  offered  to  the  gods  ;  the  Emperor 
Manogan,  120  B.C.,  called  also  the  Man  of  Joy,  or 
Musician  ;  Beli  the  Great,  and  several  more — 
desperate  foemen  when  disputing  an  inch  of  soil, 
albeit  peaceful  enough  in  unmolested  enjoyment  of 
their  home  pursuits.  Among  these  music  stood  out 
beyond  all  else. 

In  many  directions  there  was  a  call  for  music — 
not  a  too  refined  art,  perhaps,  but  one  born  of 
splendid  barbarism — among  these  sharers  of  grand 
heroic  days  and  ages  which  history  recounteth  not. 
The  pathetic  nature  of  such  earliest  native  music 
may  be  gauged  by  the  following  melodies  which 
tradition  ascribes  to  the  ancient  British  : 

MWYNEN  GWYNEDD. 

(The  Sweet  Melody  of  North  Wales.) 

3    N 


.  _      .  '-v-i—i ^ T- 1 0 -5-| 5 


^ ; — r-K^ L H — ths 


78 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


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It  is  difficult  to  fix  the  date  of  the  following  tune, 
but  it  is  believed  to  allude  to  the  departure  of  King 
Cadwaladr  when  a  plague  and  famine  raged  in  his 
dominion.  He  sailed  to  Britany  to  his  cousin  Alan 
about  the  year  665  a.d.  It  possesses  all  the  character, 
however,  of  the  early  British  music  : 


YMDAWI    AD    Y    BRENHIN. 

(The  Departure  of  the  King.) 


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There  was  much  for  bardic  song-men  to  do  in  an 
age  when  men  depended  upon  the  memory  for  the 
preservation  of  fact.  Pedigrees  and  items  of  gene- 
alogy had  to  be  told  by  the  bards,  who  accompanied 
on  the  harp  all  that  they  narrated  :  the  division  of 
lands   required   to    be    known    and    confirmed  ;    the 


8o  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


praises  of  benefactors  were  to  be  sung  ;  national 
matters  needed  to  be  reduced  to  an  almanack  form  ; 
the  herald  of  the  palace  was  expected  to  inform  his 
King  and  chiefs  of  events  of  note,  past  and  present, 
while  ovates  had  to  divine  and  augur.  All  this  fell 
to  the  share  of  these  poet-musicians,  who  sang  their 
records,  and  accompanied  them  on  an  instrument. 

We  know  that  the  order  of  the  bards  was  a 
prominent  feature  in  the  British  administrative 
system.  Such  a  natural  element,  together  with  the 
enduring  vitality  of  an  art-growth  which  had  been 
begotten  of  Britons  themselves,  which  was,  in  fact, 
born  of  the  very  soil  of  Britain,  will  easily  account 
for  the  hold  which  the  native  music  continued  to 
have  on  the  Britons  loner  after  the  inroads  of  the 
Saxons  and  the  introduction  of  their  barbarous 
music — such  as  the  first  sample  undoubtedly  was. 
The  Briton  clung  to  his  own  tune,  preferring  its 
pathetic  tone  and  interval — the  independent  style 
and  beauty  of  which  have  been  mentioned — to  any- 
thing the  foreigners  brought  with  them.  He  scorned 
the  music  of  the  intruder  as  disdainfully  as  he  did 
his  intrepidity  and  daring. 

Prominent  among  the  oft-mentioned  British  bards 
in  the  period  we  are  considering  is  Aneurin,  son  of 
Caw.  Chief  of  the  Gododinians,  he  was  surnamed 
King  of  the  Bards,  and  flourished  about  510  a.d. 
He  also  was  one  of  the  three  Golden  Torque 
bards,  whose  necks  were  adorned  with  gold  chains 


KING   VORTIGERX'S  BARDS  Si 

— symbols  of  honour,  and  denoting  high  proficiency 
in  the  art.  Two  others  who  enjoyed  this  proud 
distinction  were  Prince  Llywarch  Hen — ruler  of 
Cumbria  (580  a.d.) — and  Brenin  Penbeirdd.  Brenin 
the  natives  surnamed  King  Supreme  of  the  Bards, 
for  he  was  the  most  renowned  player  on  the  harp 
then  known.  At  about  this  same  time  appears 
Gwrhir,  who  was  bard  to  Teilaw,  Bishop  of  Llandaff 
514  A.D. 

With  Brenin  Penbeirdd  we  get  a  glimpse  of 
bardic  usage.  In  his  time  the  custom  was  to  sit 
under  the  oak   and   decide  relatively   the   bards   of 

Bardic    every  degree.     This  took  place  annually. 

Usage.  Three  orders  of  singers  and  musicians 
were  adjudged  to  be  preferable,  and  of  an  exalted 
class.  These  were  the  harper,  because  he  praised 
God  on  a  stringed  instrument ;  the  ode  bard,  because 
he  praised  God  in  vocal  songs  ;  and  the  heraldic  bard, 
who  praised  the  Deity  and  preserved  in  song  and 
verse  the  memorable  actions  of  warriors,  and  all 
excellencies,  personal  and  national,  worthy  of  com- 
mendation for  the  good  of  the  world.  The  establish- 
ment of  Prince  Vortigern — Prince  of  the  Demetse 
tribe  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century — included 
a  retinue  of  twelve  principal  bards.  On  a  certain 
occasion  he  found  it  necessary  to  consult  them  and  to 
gather  information  which  they  should  have  supplied. 
Subsequently  the  King  found  out  that  he  had  been 
deceived  by  his  bards,  whereupon  he  had  them  put 

6 


82  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

to  death,  either  to  satisfy  his  personal  vexation,  or 
to  exact  the  penalty  of  the  law,  which  forbade  the 
bards  from  subverting  the  truth  in  whatever  they 
sang  or  related. 

At  times  the  King  himself  was  a  bard,  so  highly 
was  music  long  regarded  in  our  country.  One  such 
was  Talhairn  Tad  Awen  (540  a.d.),  of  Llanvair 
Talhairn  in  Denbighshire.  Owain,  Prince  of  Reged 
in  the  sixth  century,  and  whose  tomb  at  Llan-Morvael 
the  '  memorials '  say  was  '  girt  with  four  stones,'  was 
another.  Then  there  was  Arthur,  of  Round  Table 
renown,  crowned  Emperor  of  Britain  by  Archbishop 
Dubritius  at  Caerleon-on-Usk. 

'  Emperor  and  leader  of  the  toil  of  war,' 

Llywarch  Hen  sings,  when  recounting  his  prowess 
and  the  daring  of  Geraint  ab  Erbin,  Admiral  of  the 
British    fleet,   who,    with    King    Arthur,    drove   the 
King      Saxons  from  our  shores  (530  a.d. ).    Arthur 
Arthur.    cou\d  tune  the  harp  with  cunning  hand,  and 
through  his  hall  the  strains  of  music  favoured  many 
a  knight  and  chief.    Under  the  system  of  the  Druids 
there  were  three   musicians  who,   it  appears,  filled 
the  high  office  of  '  imperial  performers  on  the  harp.' 
King  Arthur  was  one  of  these,  the  others  contem- 
porary with   him  being  one   Crella,   and  Glewlwyd 
Gavaelvawr,  or  '  Brave  Gray  with  Powerful  Grasp,' 
who  was  Master  of  the  Ceremonies  in  Kinp-  Arthur's 
palace,   and  one    of  his   knights.     With   one   more 


DECAY  OF  ORIGINAL  MUSIC  83 

enumeration  from  the  long  list  of  famous  British 
bards,  and  this  of  a  period  as  far  off  as  640  A.D.,  we 
are  made  acquainted  with  the  '  three  bloody-speared 
bards  of  Britain,'  though  why  they  should  rejoice 
under  such  a  distinction  is  not  recorded.  Their 
names  were  Taliesin,  head  of  the  bards  ;  Avan 
Verddig,  bard  to  King  Cadwallon,  the  son  of 
Cadvan,  King  of  North  Wales  ;  and  Aneurin — 
perchance  a  descendant  of  that  Aneurin  already 
mentioned,  who  was  styled  the  King  of  the  Bards. 

Such  were  the  men  who  sang  and  wept  over  the 
departing  ancient  song  and  harmony  of  Britain.  Eye- 
witnesses of  goodlier  times,  memory  and  tradition 
alike  revived  in  their  breasts  story  and  tone  which 
made  them  hate  their  new  enemies  even  more  bitterly 
than  they  did  the  Romans.  They  were  not  likely  to 
be  willingly  affected  by  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  invaders,  rapidly  as  these  were  thrusting  them- 
selves upon  the  country  by  reason  of  the  constant 
ingress  of  Saxons.  This  exclusiveness  was  purposely 
studied,  and  to  it  must  be  attributed  the  slow  decay 
of  British  music ;  for  we  must  remember  that  the  early 
music  and  native  harmonious  methods  remained  long 
after  the  arrival  of  Saxons,  Danes,  and  Normans. 

Very  similar  to  the  British  bards  in  their  habits 
and  occupation  were  the  Saxon  scops  or  scalds.  In 
England  the  scop  became  the  Anglo-Saxon  scald 
— a  word  which  denotes  a  smoother  or  polisher  of 
language. 


84  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

The  origin  of  the  art  of  the  scop  or  scald  was 
attributed  to  Odin  or  Wodin,  the  father  of  the 
Saxon    gods,    and    the    professors    of    it,    like    the 

Saxon    ancient   British    bards,   were   held   by   the 

Scalds.  Saxons  in  the  highest  esteem.  Their  skill 
was  considered  as  something  divine  ;  their  persons 
were  accounted  sacred ;  their  companionship  was 
required  by  kings  ;  while  they  were  everywhere 
loaded  with  honours  and  rewards. 

When  the  Saxons  turned  from  the  forests  of 
Angle-land  it  was  not,  as  we  have  seen,  to  leave  all 
their  social  habits  and  customs  behind.  Many  were 
brought  with  them  into  England,  and  contributed  to 
make  musical  Britain  what  it  now  is.  The  scop 
and  gleeman,  for  instance,  made  the  minstrel  of 
Norman  and  later  times,  and  of  the  minstrel  was 
eventually  begotten  the  ballad-singer  and  concert- 
room  vocalist  of  the  past  and  to-day.  The  scop 
invented  and  often  also  recited ;  the  gleeman  recited 
and  otherwise  provided  entertainment  as  musician, 
and  rope-dancer. 

Widsith  was  a  scop  of  the  fourth  century,  attached 
to  the  Court  of  Queen  Ealhhild,  among  the  Myr- 
gings  by  the  Elbe.  He,  like  most  scops,  could  sing 
loudly  in  praise  of  his  benefactors,  and  still  more 
loudly  concerning  his  own  virtues  and  talents  : 

'  Therefore  I  can  sing 
And  tell  a  tale,  recount  in  the  Mead  Hall 
How  men  of  high  race  gave  rich  gifts  to  me.' 


LAMEST  OF  DEOR—THE  SCOP 


'  A  circlet  given  to  me  by  Guthhere, 
A  welcome  treasure  for  reward  of  song. 
That  was  no  tardy  king.' 

'And  I  was 
With  Eormanric,  and  all  the  while  the  King 
Of  Goths  was  good  to  me.     Chief  in  his  burgh, 
A  collar  of  six  hundred  sceats  of  gold — 
Beaten  gold — counted  in  coin,  he  gave  me.' 

1  When  I  and  Skilling  for  our  conquering  lord 
With  clear  voice  raised  the  song,  loud  to  the  harp, 
The  sound  was  music ;  many  a  stately  man, 
Who  well  knew  what  was  right,  then  said  in  words 
That  never  had  they  heard  a  happier  song.' 

The  success  of  the  scop  depended  wholly  upon 
his  power  to  please.  He  struck  the  glee-beam,  as 
the  rude  harp  was  called,  in  the  halls  of  the  great 
chiefs,  whose  deeds  were  shaped  into  triumphant 
song,  wherein  enemies  figured  as  monsters,  while 
the  chiefs  were  praised  as  little  else  than  gods. 
Sometimes  the  scop's  own  genius  failed  him — per- 
haps in  composing,  playing,  or  singing.  Then,  to 
hold  his  ground,  he  would  associate  himself  with  a 
comrade  who  supplied  the  deficiency,  for  it  was  a 
disgrace  to  be  supplanted  in  the  favour  of  a  chief. 

The  scop  Deor  was  so  displaced,  and  his  '  Lament ' 
shows  him  a  miserable  wanderer — though  not  alto- 
gether without  hope  :  '  I  had  a  good  following,  a 
faithful  lord,  for  many  winters  ;  until  that  now 
Heorrenda,  a  song-crafty  man,  has  obtained  the 
landright,  which  the  refuge  of  warriors  gave  to  me 
before.' 


86  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Whether  called  scop  or  scald,  they  were  generally 
poets  and  musicians  combined,  whose  main  employ- 
ment was  to  celebrate  the  deeds  of  the  brave  and 
great  in  heroic  poems,  sung  to  the  accompaniment 
of  the  harp  or  lyre,  just  as  did  the  British  bard. 
Each  rich  and  powerful  chief  brought  with  him  his 
native  bard,  whose  duty  was  to  transmit  history  and 
to  shape  the  lay  or  ballad  recounting  the  valorous 
deeds  dear  to  the  ears  of  the  noble.  The  Teuton 
bard  was  indeed  little  inferior  to  the  Celtic.  The 
people  respected  and  welcomed  him  wherever  he 
went,  just  as  the  British  did  their  bards,  for  they 
loved  to  hear  such  narratives  as  the  scalds  told,  and 
the  recounting  of  deeds  of  courage  and  daring  in- 
cited them  to  heights  of  great  ambition  and  valorous 
desire.  The  King  and  Prince  even  constituted  the 
Bard  the  eighth  officer  in  dignity  at  his  Court. 

Their  order,  divided  into  four  classes,  consisted  of 
the  most  distinguished  musicians,  outside  which  was 
a  lesser  order  of  itinerant  musicians  and  performers, 
from  which  probably  later  musical  oddmen  and 
merry-makers  sprung.  Among  so  jovial  a  race,  it 
is  not  surprising  that  amusement-makers  multiplied 
apace.  Itinerant  performers,  musicians  of  all  kinds, 
and  buffoons,  increased  amazingly,  and  for  many 
subsequent  generations  they  plied  their  calling  at  all 
early  English  fairs  and  gatherings,  where  music, 
song,  and  dance  would  be  sure  to  please. 

One  such  wandering  musician  was  Cynewulf  (720- 


TA  LIE  SIN  87 


800),  especially  famed  in  Northumbria.  The  songs 
and  music  of  these  Saxon  musicians  were  extremely 
affecting,  and  productive  frequently  of  great  good  in 
quelling  quarrels  and  preventing  bloodshed.  At 
times  when  the  armies  of  rival  princes  were  about  to 
engage  in  furious  combat,  the  bards  rushed  in 
between  them,  and  engaged  in  playing  subdued 
strains.  Then  the  contending  forces,  with  their  fury- 
softened  by  the  music,  and  respecting  the  bards, 
desisted  and  submitted  to  be  dispersed  without  loss 
of  honour. 

Taliesin  was  a  Welsh  bard,  who  flourished  about 
550  a.d.  He  sang  in  the  time  of  King 
Maelgwn  Gwynedd,  but  he  was  originally 
patronized  by  Elphin,  son  of  Urien. 

An  interesting  story  has  come  down  of  this  King 
Maelgwn,  showing  something  of  the  struggle  for 
supremacy  in  musical  contests  even  in  those  far-off 
days.  Maelgwn  (or,  as  others  say,  his  father  Cass- 
wallon)  went  to  judge  between  the  poets  and  the 
musicians,  and  caused  the  poets  and  harpers  to 
swim  the  river  Conway.  The  harpers  and  crwthers' 
instruments  were  spoiled,  whereby  the  poets,  whose 
tools  could  not  be  destroyed,  won  the  competition. 
There  was  some  humour  here,  probably.  Music 
and  poetry  were  often  ranked  as  separate  profes- 
sions, and  at  the  public  contests  of  skill  the  musicians 
invariably  carried  off  the  prize.  Maelgwn,  by  way 
of  encouraging  the  poets,  adopted  the  ruse,  so  that 


88  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


the  poets,  who  had  some  ground  to  recover,  might 
get  on  a  level  with  the  estimate  entertained  of  the 
musicians.  Taliesin,  with  other  British  bards,  kept 
the  old  national  musical  spirit  alive  during  the 
troublous  Saxon  period  in  which  he  lived.  His  vocal 
song  was  framed  upon  five,  out  of  some  twenty-four, 
metres  which  the  native  bards  used,  and  these  were 
denominated  the  five  pillars  or  canons  of  poetry. 
Among  his  odes  is  'Cunobline's  Incantation,'  wherein 
occur  repeated  and  appreciative  references  to  music, 
remarks  which  show  clearly  that  it  was  only  neces- 
sary to  remind  the  people  of  their  musical  traditions 
and  excellence  to  inspire  them  with  all  the  fire  and 
enthusiasm  which  the  art  could  provoke. 

1  The  king  of  the  land  of  harmony, 
Mine  is  the  lot  to  lament  him.' 

Such  is  the  prevailing  note  of  Taliesin's  produc- 
tions, and  probably  of  all  those  bardic  compositions 
which  have  become  lost.  Their  object  was  to  insure 
success  to  the  heroes  in  their  day  of  battle,  and  the 
recitation  of  the  odes  was  held  to  be  productive 
of  a  protective  charm — a  mystic  efficacy  from  the 
Gorchanan — to  the  body  : 

'  The  guardian  spell  of  Cynvelyn, 
On  the  plains  of  Gododin, 
Shall  it  not  prevail  over  Odyn  ?' 

The  tone  of  this  expression  shows  that  the  spirit  of 
enmity  against  the  Saxon  was  far  from  crushed  in 


THE  LEGES  WALLICM  89 

the  Briton  as  he  was  met  in  Taliesin.  Another 
extract  from  a  poem*  of  a  battle  supposed  to  have 
been  fought  in  the  Vale  of  Garant,  is  suocrestive  of 
music  being  employed  in  Taliesin's  day  in  much  the 
same  way  as  it  is  used  in  modern  warfare. 

1  The  sons  of  slaughter  the  reeking  plain  will  leave, 
When  the  string  of  harmony  resounds.' 

Taliesin  mentions,  too,  the  hunting-horns,  which 
were  the  common  accompaniment  to  the  person. 
This  occurs  in  '  The  Salutation '  poem,  wherein 
Taliesin  is  welcoming  Ugnach,  a  celebrated  bard  : 

1  Thou  knight  that  goest  towards  the  city, 
With  white  dogs  and  large  hunting-horns.' 

The  Leges  Walliccr,  or  Welsh  Laws,  throw  much 
light  on  Saxon  habits  and  customs,  especially  con- 
cerning the  bards.     The  laws  were  framed  by  Howel 
Dha,  or   Howel  the  Good,   King  of  the 

Waliicae,    Welsh    (9 1 5-948    a.d.),    one    who,    as    a 
or  Welsh 
Bardic     chronicler   says,    '  was    greatly    loved    by 

every  Welshman,  and  by  the  wise  among 

the    Saxons.'     Besides   his  qualities  of  ability  and 

learning-  he  was  a  devoted  lover  of  music.     At  his 

Court  every  wandering  bard  found  a  home  as  long 

as  it  pleased  him  to  remain,  while  a  talented  musician 

was  permanently  attached  to  the  palace.     Another 

*  The  original  Welsh  of  this  British  relic  is  found  in  one  of  the 
oldest  Welsh  manuscripts— the  Black  Book  of  Caermarthen 
(Y  Llyfe  du  o  Gaerfyrddin) — in  the  eighth  century  handwriting, 
on  goat-skin. 


go  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

musical  Prince  Howel,  son  of  Prince  Owain 
Gwynedd,  one  of  the  ancient  British  Bardic  Kings, 
is  recorded.  The  latter  is  supposed  to  have  flourished 
about  1 1 40,  having  for  a  contemporary  Owain  Cy- 
veilliog,  Prince  of  Powis,  also  a  British  Bardic  King. 
From  these  Welsh  Laws  we  gather  much  interest- 
ing information  relating  to  musical  procedure  of  the 
Saxon  period.  The  Bardd  Tetdu,  or  Bard  of  the 
Palace,  was,  in  rank,  the  eighth  officer  of  the  King's 
household  ;  he  was  also  one  of  the  royal  guests,  and 
sat  at  his  table,  next  to  the  Heir  Apparent.  On 
his  appointment  the  bard  received  a  harp  from  the 
King  and  a  golden  ring  from  the  Queen.  He  won 
his  claim  to  pre-eminence  by  his  superior  merit  in 
the  science  of  music  and  poetry  at  one  of  the  British 
Olympics.  The  King  found  him  his  woollen  apparel 
and  a  horse,  and  the  Queen  gave  him  his  linen 
apparel.  His  lodging  was  in  the  house  of  the  Heir 
Apparent  (who  was  the  controller  of  the  household), 
and  on  three  great  festivals  in  the  year  it  was  the 
office  of  the  prince  to  deliver  the  harp  into  the 
hands  of  the  bard  when  about  to  perform,  for  which 
service  he  was  entitled  to  a  song  (or  a  tune)  from 
the  bard  whenever  he  chose.  When  the  royal 
family  desired  a  song  in  the  great  hall,  the  Bardd- 
Cadeiriawg,  or  Chaired  Bard,  had  first  to  sing  a 
hymn  in  praise  of  God,  and  another  in  honour  of  the 
King,  and  of  the  most  worthy  of  his  ancestors  and 
their  exploits.     When  these  were  over  the  bard  of 


SAXON  MUSICAL  METHODS  91 

the  palace  was  to  sing"  next  upon  some  other  sub- 
ject, in  the  lower  part  of  the  hall  ;  and  if  the  Queen 
desired  to  have  music  after  she  returned  from  the 
table  to  her  apartment,  he  was  then  to  perform  three 
tender  and  eloquent  songs  or  pathetic  tunes,  different 
from  those  which  he  had  played  in  the  hall.  The 
bard  accompanied  the  army  when  it  marched  on  a 
warlike  expedition  into  an  enemy's  country  ;  and 
when  the  soldiers  were  preparing  for  battle  he 
recited  and  performed  to  them  the  animating  song 
called  '  Unbeniaerth  Prydain,'  or,  the  '  Monarchy  of 
Britain,'  to  remind  them  of  their  ancient  right,  in 
praise  of  their  brave  ancestors,  and  to  inspire  them 
to  heroism.  For  this  service  he  was  rewarded  with 
one  of  the  most  valuable  things  of  the  plunder.  If 
he  went  with  other  bards  upon  a  musical  peregrina- 
tion he  was  entitled  to  a  double  portion  for  his 
share.  He  held  his  land  free.  If  the  bard  desired 
any  favour  of  the  King,  he  was  to  perform  to  him 
one  of  his  own  compositions  ;  if  of  a  nobleman,  he 
was  to  perform  to  him  three  ;  and  if  of  a  plebeian 
he  was  to  set  him  to  sleep.  Whoever  slightly  in- 
jured the  bard  was  fined  six  cows,  and  a  hundred  and 
twenty  pence  ;  and  whoever  slew  a  bard  was  fined 
a  hundred  and  twenty-six  cows.  Five  bards  formed 
part  of  the  King's  retinue  when  he  rode  in  state. 

The  Pencerdd,  or  Cadeir-fardd,  the  Head  of 
Song  or  Chaired  Bard,  was  one  who  had  gained 
pre-eminence  in  a  musical  and  poetical  contest,  in  an 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Eisteddfod,  or  Session  of  the  Bards,  held  triennially 
in  the  royal  palace  or  in  the  hall  of  the  lord.     This 
solemnity  was  decided   by   the  venerable  judge  of 
the  palace,  and  as  a  reward  he  received  from  the 
victorious    bard  a  bugle-horn,   a  gold   ring,   and  a 
cushion    for   his    chair   of    dignity.      This    Chaired 
Bard,  according  to  Howel's  Laws,  was  the  bard  of  a 
district,  or  county,  and  chief  president  of  music  and 
poetry  within  that  precinct,  and  in  him  was  vested 
the  control  of  all  the  other  bards  within  that  jurisdic- 
tion.     He  was  also  a  bardic  teacher,  and  at  stated 
periods  he  prepared  students  to  take  their  degrees, 
which  were  ratified   by   the  Sessions  of  the    Bards 
every  third  year  ;  and  he  also  regulated  and  assigned 
to  each  of  the  other  bards  their  clera  circuits  within 
his  district.     This  Pencerdd  Gwlad,  or  head  bard  of 
the  district,  had  his  lands  free ;  his  perquisites  arose 
from  his  scholars,  and  he  was  also  entitled  to  a  fee 
from  every  bride,  and  the  Amobr,  or  marriage  fine 
of  the  daughters  of  all  the  inferior  bards  within  his 
district.      He  sat  in  the  tenth  place  in  the  royal  hall. 
His  privilege  of  protection  lasted  from  the  beginning 
of  his  first  song  in  the  hall  of  the  palace  to  the  con- 
clusion of  the  last.     Every  Pencerdd,  or  chief  bard, 
to  whom  the  lord  assigned  privileges  was  supplied 
with  musical  instruments — that  is,  a  harp  to  one,  a 
crwth  to  another,  and  pipes  to  the  third  ;  and  when 
the  bards  died  such  instruments  reverted  to  the  lord 
or  his  successor. 


MUSIC  IX  KING  ALFRED'S  REIGX 


93 


Secular  music,    apart  from  the   art  of  the  bard, 

begins  to  stand  out  as  an  item  of  polite  education 

with   King  Alfred's  reign.      The  harp  is  constantly 

_       .        beino-  noticed  as  an  adjunct  to  all  secular 
Secular  p  J 

Music  in    music  ;    indeed,    it    was    the    national    in- 

King  .  . 

Alfred's  strument — taking  precedence  among  the 
Saxons  over  the  psaltry,  nthele,  and  the 
'pip,'  or  pipe — just  as  it  was  with  the  Britons,  who 
styled  it,  however,  the  crwth,  or  teglin.  It  was  one 
of  the  three  things  that  were  necessary  to  constitute 
a  gentleman  or  freeman,  and  none  could  pretend  to 
that  character  who  had  not  one 
of  these  favourite  instruments, 
and  could,  besides,  play  upon  it. 
To  prevent  slaves  from  pre- 
tending to  be  gentlemen  it  was 
expressly  forbidden  to  teach,  or 
to  permit  them  to  play  upon 
the  harp  ;  and  none  but  the 
King,  the  King's  musicians, 
and  gentlemen,  were  allowed 
to  have  harps  in  their  posses- 
sion. A  gentleman's  harp  was 
not  liable  to  be  seized  for  debt,  because  the  want  of 
it  would  have  degraded  him  from  his  rank,  and  re- 
duced   him   to   that  of  a  slave.*     That   it   was  an 

*  Distinction  is  made  of  three  orders  of  harps — the  harp  of  the 
King,  the  harp  of  the  chief  bard  or  laureate,  and  the  harp  of  a 
gentleman. 


HARP   OF   THE    NINTH 
CENTURY. 

{From  MS.  of  St.  Blaise.) 


94  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

instrument  common  also  among  the  Saxons  before 
their  settlement  here,  however,  may  be  seen  in  the 
Anglo-Saxon  words  hearpe  and  hearpa,  which  are 
not  derived  from  the  British  nor  any  Celtic  lan- 
guage, but  are  the  genuine  Gothic  originals.  The 
word  'glee,'  Anglo-Saxon  gligg,  it  may  be  added,  is 
another  instance  of  a  Saxon  radix  from  which  a 
variety  of  musical  terms  and  phrases  spring,  thus 
affording-  strong  evidence  that  the  Saxons  were 
a  people  who  brought  musical  materials  into  this 
country. 

Alfred  in  one  of  his  translations  furnishes  us  with 
a  clue  to  the  mode  of  playing  the  harp,  i.e.,  whether 
with  the  naked  finger  or  a  plectrum — a  rather  moot 
point.  Burney  instances  the  matter.  '  Alfred,'  says 
the  historian,  '  translates  the  Latin  word  plectrum 
into  hearp-ncegel  (Saxon),  by  which  it  would  seem 
that  the  harp,  in  the  time  of  this  royal  musician,  was 
played,  like  the  ancient  lyre,  with  -^plectrum.  Nsegel 
is  likewise  Saxon  for  a  nail  of  the  finger  or  toe.' 

No  writers  of  the  period  make  reference  to  the 
manufacture  of  these  harps  among  other  instruments 
— matters  of  this  nature  having  altogether  slipped 
their  attention — and  whether  it  was  a  separate  call- 
ing, or  whether  the  harper,  Briton,  Saxon  or  Scandi- 
navian, constructed  his  own  instrument,  does  not 
transpire.  It  is  probable  that  he  did,  since  all  the 
materials  were  close  at  hand,  and  his  skill  as  a 
harper  would  guide  him  in  making  exactly  the  class 


DECLINE  OF  SAXON  MUSIC 


95 


and  style  of  instrument  that  he  required.  There 
were  no  imports  of  musical  instruments  in  such 
early  times,  and  Celt  and  Teuton  were  thrown  much 
upon  their  own  resources  in  such  matters,  leaving  it 
quite  feasible,  as  has  been  explained,  for  even  the 
ancient  Britons  to  have  possessed  much  more  in  the 
way  of  instrumental  material  than  is  commonly 
credited  to  them.  At  the  same 
time  there  is,  it  must  be  admitted, 
something  incongruous  in  the 
performer  having-  first  to  con- 
struct his  instrument,  especially 
if  we  reflect  upon  what  the  pos- 
sible consequences  would  be  if 
present-day  violin,  harp  and 
pianoforte  virtuosi  had  to  go 
through  such  an  experience 
before  getting  anything  to  play 
upon  ! 

But  whether  under  the  name 
of  scop,  gleeman,  or  scald,  the 
ancient  musician  or  bard,  as  he  existed  among  the 
pagan  northmen,  declined  in  time,  and  with  the 
sweeping  changes  in  England,  especially  at  the 
Norman  Conquest,  gave  place  to  a  new  musician. 

When  the  Saxons  had  thoroughly  settled  here  as 
Englishmen,  the  old  poet-musician  of  their  German 
home  became  two  persons,  viz.,  poet  and  musician. 
The    former  was  a  man   of  letters — a   poet  as  we 


PERFORMER    ON    THREE- 
STRINGED   CROUT. 


96 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


understand  the  term  now.  The  latter  was  one  who 
gained  his  livelihood  by  singing  verses  to  the  harp, 
principally  at  the  houses  of  the  great,  whereat  he 
and  his  companions  were  welcomed  and  hospitably 
treated,  just  as  the  scops  or  scalds  had  been  before 
them. 


Principal  Authorities. 

Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle.' 

History  of  the  Anglo-Saxons '  - 

Music  of  the  Anglo-Saxons '    - 

History  of  England '       -         -         - 

English  Writers '     - 

Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians ' 

History  of  Music '  - 

Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time '  - 

Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry ' 

Beowulf 

Chronicles      - 

Historia  Ecclesiastica ' 

Early  English  Church  History ' 

Essays  on  English  Church  Music '  - 


Sharon  Turner. 

Wackerbarth. 

Lingard. 

Morley. 

Grove. 

Burney. 

Chappell. 

Percy. 

Ingulph. 
Bede. 
Bright. 
Mason. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AUGUSTINE  AND  HIS  MUSICAL   WORK. 

The  Coming  of  Augustine — Scene  at  Thanet — Ambrosian  versus 
Gregorian  Church  Music — Gregory — Instruments  in  the  early 
Church  Services — Repairing  the  Churches — Notable  Abbeys — 
Monastic  Musical  Establishments — A  Magnificent  Dedication 
Service — Saxon  Musical  Instruments — The  Cotton  MSS. 
References  to  Instruments — String  and  Percussion — The 
Organ — The  Psaltery — The  Viola — Drums  and  Cymbals — 
The  Sambuca-Canticum — Aldhelm  and  the  Trumpet — Tuning 
in  Chords. 

Here  we  reach  a  great  situation — one  no  less  momen- 
tous than  the  introduction  of  the  Roman  Church 
service  and  teaching-  into  England.  The  event,  as 
we  all  know,  was  to  prove  pregnant  with  tremendous 
issues  in  the  future  social,  political,  and  religious 
history  of  our  country. 

The  upraising  of  Christ's  Cross   in   England  by 

Augustine  (died  605  a.d.) — an  event  which  has  been 

hinted  at  in  the  previous  chapter — was 

Coming  of  the  signal  for  a  fresh  outburst  of  sin- 
Augustine.  .1  .  ^,  1  1    T)    •   •   1 

cere  musical  emotion.      1  he  old  British 
Church  services  had  all  but  died  out  in  the  distrac- 

7 


98  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

tions  of  years  of  war  and  bloodshed  with  pagans, 
so  that  there  were  few  altars  left  whereat  sacred 
music  was  poured  forth.  Withal  there  was  to  be  a 
glorious  revival.  At  the  spot  where  the  Roman 
missionary  and  his  band  landed  with  their  Gospel 
of  Peace,  and  wherever  they  went,  there  arose  for 
the  first  time  in  this  country  the  glorious  strains  of 
chants  and  melodies  of  the  Roman  Church  which 
are  to  be  heard  in  so  many  of  the  churches  of  Great 
Britain  to-day  where  Gregorian  music  is  used. 

Pope  Gregory  (c.  550-604  a.d.),  moved  to  extend 
Christianity  into  England,  charged  Augustine,  a 
Roman  Abbot,  with  the  mission.  He  selected  forty 
missionaries,  and  one  day  took  his  departure  from 
the  Benedictine  monastery  of  St.  Andrew's  on  the 
Coelian  Hill.  The  journey  from  Rome  to  England 
in  those  days  was  a  serious  undertaking,  but  after 
surmounting  many  difficulties  these  Gospel  messen- 
gers reached  the  favourable  coast  of  Kent.  Augus- 
tine chose  this  as  his  landing-place,  conscious,  no 
doubt,  that  Ethelbert,  the  King,  though  himself  a 
worshipper  of  Odin,  had  not  long  before  married 
a  French  Princess  who  was  a  Christian.  The  flat 
and  marshy  coast  of  Thanet  afforded  a  good  land- 
ing-stage, and,  what  was  more,  was  nigh  to  Can- 
terbury, the  city  for  which  they  were  bound. 
From  this  place  the  Primate  of  All  England  has 
since  taken  his  title,  while  in  its  Cathedral  a 
service   of  prayer   and    praise    has    daily    ascended 


ETHELBERT  SANCTIONS  PREACHING  99 

for  hundreds  of  years  with  scarcely  a  single  inter- 
ruption. 

A  safe  landing  being  effected  (597),  saintly  Augus- 
tine, a  man  of  great  stature,  at  the  head  of  his  band 
of  faithful  monks  marched  to  the  meeting-place, 
heralded  by  a  procession  bearing  a  silver  cross,  with 
a  picture  of  the  crucified  Christ,  and  singing  a 
Litany  and  a  jubilant  Alleluia.  That  solemn  Litany 
was  the  precursor  of  many  a  glorious  paean  of  sacred 
harmony  which  has  rung  in  our  church  roofs  for 
these  centuries  after. 

Every  detail  befitted  the  occasion.  The  canopy 
of  heaven  afforded  roof  to  the  actors  in  this  historical 
scene.  Ethelbert,  King  of  the  Jutes  in  Kent, 
seated  under  an  oak,  was  surrounded  by  his  chiefs 
and  body-guard ;  and  the  spectacle  must,  indeed, 
have  been  an  impressive  one,  as  the  Christian 
missionary,  with  his  train  of  monks,  paced  the  green- 
sward to  take  the  '  yea  '  or  '  nay  '  of  the  regal  pagan. 

The  sacred  music — probably  a  special  Canticle  or 
Psalm,  since  we  learn  that  it  was  sung  antiphonally 
to  a  Gregorian  Tone — touched  the  heart  of  the  King, 
who  gave  permission  that  Christianity  might  be 
preached  in  his  dominions.  The  answer  was  re- 
ceived joyfully.  A  Benediction  was  given,  the  pro- 
cession turned,  and  with  sure  step,  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  holy  songs,  these  messengers  of  peace 
were  soon  treading  the  dust  of  the  quiet  city  of 
Canterbury. 


IOO 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Here  good  Queen  Bertha  had  provided  for  the 
missionaries  a  house  adjoining  the  Church  of  St. 
Martin,  on  the  hill  to  the  east  of  the  city,  where 
anciently  had  been  a  British  church,  and  where  a 
Christian   altar    stood.     To    this   church   Augustine 


CHURCH   OF  ST.   MARTIN,   ON   THE   HILL. 

'  dayly    went    to    syng    service,    say    Masses,    pray, 
preache  and  christen.' 

Thus  was  Pope  Gregory's  wish,  as  he  beheld  the 
British  slave-children  in  the  Roman  market-place, 
consummated  : 

*  Subjects  of  Saxon  s£//a,  they  shall  sing, 
Glad  Ifa//e\u]ahs  to  the  eternal  King.' 

Wordsworth. 


CHORAL  ML'SIC  IMPROVED  101 


Few  are  unfamiliar  with  that  beautiful  story  and 
Gregory's  resolve  on  meeting  the  golden-haired 
children  from  Deira.  '  What  is  the  name  of  the 
kinge  of  that  province?'  asked  Gregory.  'When  it 
was  answered  that  his  name  was  y£lla,  "Alleluia," 
sayde  he,  "  must  be  sounge  in  that  Prince's  dominions 
to  the  prayse  of  Almightie  God  his  Creator.'"* 
Gregory,  it  will  be  noticed,  used  the  word  '  sung  ' 
and  not  'said.' 

Thus  the  coming  of  Augustine  marked  a  new 
era  in  Church  music — an  awakening,  as  it  were, 
into  the  early  morning  light  of  a  glorious  new-born 
day. 

The  style  of  chanting  ordered  by  Ambrose  (340- 

397  a.d.)  for  use  in  the  churches  had,  in  the  course 

of  years,  lost  its  stately  simplicity,  and  was  neglected 

Ambro-   f°r  an  ecclesiastical" music  of  a  more  gay 

Church   anc*  fl01^  style — produced  by  an  amalga- 

Music.  mation  of  pagan  theatrical  music  with  the 
Ambrosian  chant.  This  deteriorated  art-form  had 
found  its  way  into  England,  and  was  adopted  in  the 
few  scattered  churches  where  the  old  British  services 
were  continued  during  the  Saxon  invasions ;  but, 
unhappily,  at  this  period  a  greater  evil  existed  in  the 
almost  total  neglect  of  the  Christian  worship  through- 
out the  land.  So,  practically,  before  Augustine  there 
lay  the  work  of  re-conversion,  and  in  this  task  sacred 
music  was  to  prove  a  sure  and  powerful  agent. 
*  Bede  (Thomas  Stapleton's  translation). 


102  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Born  about   the   year  550  A.D.,   Gregory,   whose 

system    Augustine    adopted,    had    done    much    for 

music  at  Rome,  establishing  there  a  singing-school, 

whereat  Church  music  could  be  taught, 

which   flourished  for  full   three   hundred 

years  after  his  death  (a.d.  604). 

It  would  appear  that  the  juvenile  choristers  were 
little  better  behaved  then  than  they  frequently  are 
now,  for  the  harmonious  rudiments  had  betimes  to 
be  instilled  with  the  aid  of  a  mild  corrective  ;  and 
long  after  Gregory's  time  visitors  used  to  be  shown 
the  whip  for  the  choristers,  and  the  couch  on  which 
Gregory  reposed  when  staying  at  the  school.  His 
reformed  system  of  Church  music  included  only 
such  chants  and  melodies  as  the  first  Fathers  of  the 
Church  had  approved.  While  Ambrose,  as  we  have 
seen,  used  four  scales,  called  the  '  Authentic  '  modes, 
Gregory  introduced  four  more,  known  as  '  Plagal  ' 
or  relative  scales,  thus  increasing  the  Ecclesiastical 
Modes  to  eight. 

GREGORY'S    PLAGAL    MODES. 
First  Tone :  Hypo-Dorian  or  HLolian. 


m 


-&- 


-&- 


-&- 


:s~ 


-&— 


Second  Tone:  Hypo-Phrygian. 


CHURCH  TOXES  OR  MODES  103 


m 


Third  Tone ;  Hjpo-Zydian  or  Ionian. 

-e Q- 


-&- 


z — g: 


-e- 


-e- 


:g: 


Fourth  Tone  :  Hypo-Mixo-Lydian. 


m 


— &~- 


^=5=*=e=2. 


The  latter  he  constructed  by  prefacing  each 
original  scale  with  its  last  four  tones — e.g.,  in  the 
first  scale  (D — D)  the  four  final  tones  are  A,  B,  C, 
D  ;  these  he  placed  an  octave  lower,  at  the  same 
time  putting  them  before  the  initial  note  of  the 
scale,  viz.,  D.  The  new  scale  thus  formed  ranged 
from  A  to  A,  and  the  whole  eight  scales,  i.e.,  the 
four  Authentic  and  the  four  Plagal,  were  then  called 
Church  Modes.  Written  in  present-day  notation 
thev  are  as  follows  : 

Dorian. 


f*H — 

— — - 

s — 

1- 

A      J- 

1 
9 

—e — 
f 

J  i  ^ 

=F= 

■ 

r    l- 

■ 

Hypo-Dorian. 

Phrygian. 

tt — 

-A 
-  •     ^ 

i    J- 

—  1 1 — 

1 

— 0— 

— 1 

J  1  4 

n 

^   & 

K 

—m — 
-1 — 

F     L- 

> 

II 

Hypo-  Ph  rygia  n . 

104 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Lydian. 

tf* 

J 

i 

1 1 

1        1       J 
] 

._»_t= 

i  ■ 

'-*' 

1 

Hypo-Lydian. 

Mixo-Lydicn . 

V~"\  •                      ■■ 

1 

1 

—  0 — 

\          1      J 

"  1        '    V' 

±  ±  i: 

^=p— «- 

— \ — .. — __. — 

1 

1  -^   ' 

■^ 

Hypo-Mixo- Lydian.  » 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  initial  note  of  the 
Authentic  scale  becomes  the  fourth  note  of  the 
Plagal  scale.  Upon  these  Gregory  built  the  melodies 
or  '  tones '  which  have  ever  since  been  associated 
with  his  name. 

THE  EIGHT  GREGORIAN  TONES. 
First  Tone. 


Dixit     Dominus     Domino     me  -  o,  Se-de     a  dextris         me     -     is. 


Second  Tone. 


!^S 


Can  -  ta  -  te     Domino  canticum  novum,  cantate    Domino    omnis   terra. 

Third  Tone. 


±m,  ■! 


8 


Dominus      regnavit     ex-ul-tct      terra,     laetentur     in  -  su-toe      mul  -  tse. 


SIXGIXG  THE  TONES 


ics 


Fourth  Tone. 


Qui  confidunt  in  Domino  sicut  monsSion,non  commovebitur  in  e-ternum. 

Fifth  Tone. 


E-ruc-ta-vit  cor  meum  verbum  bonum,  di-co  e-go  o-pe-ra   me-a     re-gi. 


Sixth  Tone. 


-»-,  ■   ♦    ■    ■  m~ »~r 


Laudate     Dominum  de  cce-lis,  lau-da  -  te     e-um  in      ex  -  eel    -    sis. 

Seventh  To  tie. 


i  r 


^^p 


3ES 


Lc-va-vi     oculos  meos  in  monte,    unde    ve-ni-et  aux-i-li  -  um     mi  -  hi. 


Eighth  Tone. 


i^F^t 


In      ex-i-tu  Is-ra-el  de  Egypto,  domus  Jacob  de  po-pu-lo  bar-ba  -  ro. 

These  tones,  arranged  to  the  hymns,  canticles, 
psalms,  and  other  parts  of  the  Liturgy,  Augustine 
brought  with  him  to  England  ;  and  from  that 
day  to  this  they  have  been  used  more  or  less  in 
English  churches,  whether  under  Roman  or  Protes- 
tant rule.  All  had  to  sing  the  canto  fer mo,  or  fixed 
melody,  and  improvisings  in  the  shape  of  harmonial 
adornments  were  strictly  forbidden.  This  was  to 
distinguish  Gregorian  from  that  florid  style  of  music 
which  had   crept    into   the   religious   services.      The 


io6 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


square  and  lozenge-shaped  notes,  familiar  in  present- 
day  Gregorian  music,  if  not  actually  invented  by 
this  Church  musician,  were  at  an  early  period 
applied  to  his  chants,  and  came  to  England  through 
Augustine.  The  Gregorian  era,  therefore,  may  be 
regarded  as  a  distinctly  second  epoch  in  English 
Church  music  history. 

That    instrumental     music    soon    followed   upon 
Augustine's  exertions  in  the  cause  of  Church  music 
in    England — if,    indeed,    such    accompaniments    to 
Instru-    singing  were   not  in   use  much   earlier  in 
m  the  '"  t^e  British  Church  services — is  byno  means 
Church,   unlikely.     With  the  example  of  David  and 
the  Temple  musical  system  before  them,  the  Fathers 
of  the   Church  encouraged   instruments  as   well   as 
singing  in  the  services.      '  If  you  ac- 
company your  voices  with  the  lyre  or 
cithara,'  said  Clemens  Alexandrinus, 
in  the  second  century,  '  you  will  incur 
no    censure.'      Augustine   urged    the 
'  singing  of  the  psalms  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  the  lyre  or  psaltery,'  from 
which    it    is    evident   that   boisterous 
instruments    like    cymbals    and    dul- 
cimers were  eschewed  for  the  sweeter 
and  more   chaste  accompaniments  of  the  lyre  and 
harp.       No    testimony    can    be    adduced,    however, 
proving  the  use  of  instruments,  suitable  or  otherwise, 
at  this  early  stage  of  ecclesiastical  music  in  England, 


CITHARA. 


SPREAD  OF  GREGORIAN  MUSIC  107 

when,  the  Q-lories  of  the  ancient  British  Church 
having  departed,  the  missionaries  from  Rome  may 
well  have  contented  themselves  with  such  variety 
as  was  afforded  by  the  plain,  simple  singing  of 
the  chants  in  unison  by  choir  and  congregation 
alternately. 

What  the  old  Britons  and  Anglo-Saxons  thought 
of  the  first  Roman  Church  music  is  unrecorded,  but 
that  it  was  received  with  favour  may  be  easily 
imagined  if  we  consider  its  rapid  spread  over  the 
island,  as  new  churches  took  the  places  of  those 
destroyed  by  the  Saxons.  The  ravages  of  the 
Teuton  had  proved  disastrous  indeed  to  the  ancient 
British  Church,  and  so  fierce  was  the  enmity  between 
Briton  and  Saxon,  that  advances  from  the  British 
clergy  towards  a  reconciliation  availed  but  little. 
What  with  the  paganism  of  the  invaders  and  the 
native  inclination  towards  the  Druidical  teachings  in 
all  remote  parts  of  the  island,  the  Christian  clergy 
were  sore  put  to  it.  It  was  to  heal  the  breach 
between  the  natives  and  their  invaders,  and  to 
preach  Christianity  to  these  Saxons,  that  Augustine 
was  sent  from  Rome  : 

1  For  Christe's  love  and  His  Apostles  twelve 
He  taught,  but  first  he  followed  it  him  selve.' 

Chaucer. 

Wherever  Augustine  or  his  followers  had  founded 
churches — and  they  sprang  up  with  rapidity — there 
was  the  Gregorian  chant  and  model  Roman  service 


ro8  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

adopted.      It    may    be  that    the    people   longed   for 

some  such  sustaining  art  as  the  Roman  missionaries 

.   brought    with    them.     The    old    Church 
Spread  of  .& 

Gregorian    music  had  been  all  but  annihilated,  cast 

Music.  i  •     1  i  o 

to   the   winds,   stamped  out.     Successive 

periods  of  fire  and  sword  visitations  had  consumed 

every  remnant  of  the  past  British  Church  service, 

whatever  its  form.      Little  wonder,  then,  that  native 

and  Saxon  eventually  alike  drained  eagerly  at  the 

new  fount  which  Pope  Gregory's  messengers  brought 

with  them.      Rude  ears,  if  not  others,  would  listen 

attentively  to  that  which  was  chanted  by  the  monks 

with  much  dramatic  energy. 

After  all  the  destruction   and   burning,  slaughter 

and    bloodshed   attending  the    Teuton    invasion    of 

Britain,   there   came  a  lull.     The   havoc   had  been 

awful  and  complete  ;  but  as  the  ravenous  wolf  lifts 

its  teeth  from  its  prey  to  pant  awhile,  so  the  ferocity 

of  the  Saxon  at  length  slackened.      He  cast  his  eyes 

to  heaven  from  sheer  satiety  of  despoil,  yet  to  him 

it  was  nought  but  a  bewildering  blank,  and  his  faith 

in  the  gods  of  his  country  was  beginning  to  falter. 

It  is  terrible  to  contemplate  what  the  native  Church 

and  the  clergy  must  have  passed  through  during  the 

slow  but  certain  occupation  by  the  Saxons  ;  but  it  is 

a  relief  to  reflect  over  the  quiet  yet  successful  work 

that  went  on.     While  conquering,  the  invaders  were 

being  conquered,  so  that  a  wonderful  change  was  ere 

long  to  come  over  the  land.    The  predatory  Saxons, 


REPAIRING  THE  CHURCHES  109 

who  for  generations   had    been   fighting  their  way 

into   England,  were   no  sooner  safely  located  here 

than  they  dropped  their  profession  of  sea  piracy  and 

became  permanently  at  home.      It  is  surprising  how 

they   took   to  the  soil,    cultivating   it,   and   erecting 

dwellings  after  the  fashion  of  the  peoples  and  lands 

which  they  had  renounced.     Every  favourable  season 

also  brought    fresh   bands   of  these   English — each 

generation    better    than    its   predecessor,    and    fully 

ready  for  such  a  beneficial  and  grateful  aid  as  music, 

whether  sacred  or  secular. 

Now   did  both    Britons    and    Saxons    consort  to 

repair  the  devastation  of  the   past.     The   churches 

'  were  the  first  to  receive  attention — and  many  were 

built  of  both  wood  and  stone — for  from 
Repairing 

the         the  clergy  the  training  of  the  people  in 

Churches.        ,.    .  ,  ,  ,  .  111 

religious  and  secular  teachings  could  alone 

come.  With  marvellous  industry,  stately  minsters 
and  abbeys  were  here  and  there  erected  on  old 
church  sites,  and  matin  bell  and  sacred  choral  chant 
once  more  lent  themselves  to  the  efforts  of  the  clergy 
in  dispelling  the  heathen  darkness  inherent  in  the 
Saxons,  and  the  majority  also  of  the  Britons.  At 
this  period  churches  were  erected  at  Winchester, 
Lindisfarne  and  Ely.  Bangor,  Croyland  and  Sher- 
borne, Axminster,  Huntingdon,  Repton,  Wareham 
and  Coldingham,  also  had  churches,  many  of  which, 
unhappily,  were  to  suffer  subsequently  from  the 
scourge   of  the   Danes  and   Scandinavians.      Much 


no  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

attention  was  bestowed  once  again  upon  music  em- 
ployed in  the  religious  services,  secular  music  being 
left  to  the  minds  and  imaginations  of  those  who 
could  snatch  opportunity  to  practise  it.  That  there 
was  not  a  little  secular  music  remaining  in  the  country 
among  the  descendants  and  families  of  bards  would 
be  only  natural,  although  its  cultivation  and  practice 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  enjoined  upon  the 
people  by  the  clergy,  probably  because  of  the  per- 
nicious results  which  had  followed  from  much  of  the 
music  which  the  Saxons  had  introduced.  The  real 
musical  teachings,  therefore,  sprang  wholly  from  the 
Church,  and  to  it  we  owe  indisputably  whatever 
advance  our  country  made  in  musical  art  during  the 
stormy  Saxon  period. 

We  need  not  detail  the  services,  arrangements  and 
working  of  these  monastic  musical  establishments, 
for  such,  indeed,  they  largely  were  ;  but  that  they 

flourished  often  on  a  lame  and  splendid 
Monastic  ,  .  .      . 

Musical     scale  is  certain.     When  Edilfrid  (616  a.d.), 

King  of  Deira,  for  example,  fought  against 

Cadvan,  King  of  North  Wales,  at  Chester,  he  espied 

on  the  summit  of  a  neighbouring  hill  a  vast  unarmed 

crowd  praying.     These  were  the  monks  of  Bangor. 

4  If  they   pray,'   exclaimed    the    pagan,    '  they   fight 

against  us.'     He  then  ordered  them  to  be  put  to  the 

sword.      It  suggests  something  of  the  ecclesiastical 

condition  and  promise  of  the  country,  too,  when  we 

find    such    grand   spectacles   surrounding   the    cere- 


SAXON  COXSECRATIOX  SERVICE  in 

mony  of  church  dedications  as  that  at  the  opening 
of  Winchelcomb  Church,  of  which  we  have  historical 
data.  Cenwulf  (796-819  a.d.),  King  of  Mercia,  had 
built  this  edifice  with  royal  magnificence,  and  upon 
the  occasion  of  its  consecration  there  were  present 
two  Kings,  thirteen  Bishops,  ten  Ealdermen,  and 
an  '  immense  concourse  of  people.'  The  musical 
features  in  this  dedicatory  service  have  not  come 
down  to  us,  and  whether  it  consisted  of  the  Gallican 
or  Roman  Church  music  is  uncertain — most  likely 
it  was  the  Roman,  for  Augustine's  labours  had  borne 
much  fruit  already  ;  but  that  music  in  a  large  degree 
was  present  only  the  most  sceptical  will  doubt.  Such 
an  assembly  could  scarcely  have  participated  in  that 
spectacle  and  have  remained  dumb.  An  entirely 
spoken  service,  too,  can  hardly  be  thought  of  on  an 
auspicious  occasion  when  the  church  was  thronged 
with  worshippers,  the  chancel  with  monks,  and  a 
long  retinue  of  officiating  Prelates  and  clergy,  which 
the  Roman  ritual  permitted. 

The  information  we  have  respecting  musical 
instruments  of  this  period  affords  a  clue  to  the 
possibility   of  something  of  an   orchestrally  accom- 

Saxon  panied  service,  it  being  probable  that  the 
Musical    fuuest    and    Dest   vocal    and    instrumental 

ments.  resources  would  be  employed  in  the  re- 
ligious services.  It  is  to  Bede  that  we  are  indebted 
for  much  evidence  relating  to  musical  instruments 
in  use  here  during  the  Saxon  period.      He  is  careful 


112 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


THE  TRIANGULAR 
PSALTERY. 


to  draw  a  distinction  between  the  greatest  of  all 
instruments — the  human  voice — and  other  sound- 
giving  agents.  Thus,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
voice  he  styles  them  '  artificial '  instruments.  These 
included  the  organ,  the  psaltery,  the  viol,  drums  and 
cymbals,    the    canticum,    the    triangular  harp  —  not 

unlike  the  nablium  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians—  etc.,  about  the  existence 
and  use  of  some  of  which,  how- 
ever, there  has  grown  up  much 
difference  of  opinion.  The  organ 
is  often  called  into  question,  both 
as  to  its  introduction  into  England 
and  its  construction.  The  former 
point  we  shall  treat  of  in  the  next  chapter.  As  to 
their  make,  some  writers  assert  that  all  early  organs 
had  keys  some  inches  wide,  and  were  played  upon, 
like  carillons,  with  a  blow  of  the  fist.*  Others  state 
that  the  Anglo-Saxon  organ  had  not  only  a  register 
of  stops,  but  that  it  was  furnished  with  the  semitones. 

*  Hence,  perhaps,  the  term  'organ-blower,'  as  Purcell  is  most 
discordantly  styled  in  the  records  kept  by  the  Dean  and  Chapter 
of  Westminster.  The  same  term  is  also  used  in  the  vestry-books 
of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Holborn.  A  Greek  enigmatical  epigram, 
in  which  the  riddle  to  be  solved  is  the  organ,  and  commencing, 
'AXXoltjv  6p6u)  'Sovcikwv  <j>vcriv  YjTTov  dir'  aAA^s,  attributed  to  the 
Emperor  Julian,  suggests  that  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century  the  organ  was  played  with  the  fingers  ;  so  that  it  would 
not  have  been  impossible  for  a  finger  organ  to  have  been  among 
the  possessions  of  the  Saxons  before  and  after  their  settlement  in 
Britain. 


ANGLOS  A  A'O.V  INSTRUMENTS 


in 


The  psalterium  or  psaltery — a  sort  of  harp-lute — 
belonged    apparently    to    the    Anglo-Saxons.     The 
Cotton  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum  contain  much 
valuable    matter    respecting    Anglo  -  Saxon    music, 
among    which    is    a    Latin-Saxon    Psalter,    with    a 
picture  representing    David  per- 
forming on  a  psaltery,  an  eleven- 
stringed  instrument.     According 
to  Bede,  the  harp,  or  cithara,  was 
contrary  to  the  psaltery,  since  the 
harp  had  in   its   lower  part  that 
hollow  portion  which  the  psaltery 
had  above.     This  remark  seems 
to  suggest  that  whereas  the  psal- 
tery had  a  belly  and  sound-board 
in  its  upper  part,  parallel  to  the 
strings,  like  those  of  the  lute  or 
viol,    the   hollow   sound-board  of 
the  harp  was  in  its   lower  limb, 
at  right  angles  with  the  plane  of 
the  strings.     The  Anglo-Saxons 
had   two  harps — a  large   instrument  standing  four 
feet  in  height,  which  was  played  with  the  right  hand 
in  the  treble,  and  the  left  hand  in  the  bass  ;  also  a 
smaller  instrument  held  in  the  left  hand,  and  mani- 
pulated with  the  right.     This  smaller  instrument  was 
of  different  varieties,  such  as  the  nabulum,  pennola, 
corus,  etc.     They   had   three   or    four  strings,   and 
were  without  neck  or  peg  arrangements,  to  raise  or 

8 


KING    DAVID     PLAYING 
UPON   THE   HARP. 

(From  an  Irish  Miniature 
of  the  Eighth  Century.) 


U4 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


lower  the  pitch  of  the  strings,  and  since  they  were 
carried,  and  were  used  chiefly  for  convivial  music, 
no  great  art  results  were  probably  expected  from 
them.  Another  stringed  instrument  was  the  viol — 
not  unlike  our  violin,  since  it  had  four  strings,  and 
was  held  and  played  with  a  bow,  just  as  a  fiddle  is 
nowadays.     That  playing  upon  this  instrument  had 

reached  any  perfection  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons  is  extremely 
improbable,  for  as  recently  as 
Purcell's  day  (1658- 1695)  tne 
wonderful  properties  of  the 
violin  had  not  been  fully  ascer- 
tained. They  were  all  plucked 
either  with  the  fingers  or  a 
plectrum  formed  of  quill  or 
bone. 

Instruments  of  percussion 
were  the  drum  (tympanum), 
which  Bede  describes  as  '  a 
tense  leather  stretched  on  two  cones  joined  at  the 
acute  ends,  which  resounds  on  being  stricken.'  Thus, 
it  was  not  unlike  the  present-day  drum,  having  two 
resounding  surfaces  ;  but  the  modern  tonic  and 
dominant  tunings  were  no  doubt  unknown  to  the 
Saxons,  who  probably  disregarded  the  tones  of  their 
drums.  '  Anglo-Saxon  cymbals  [cymbala],'  says 
Bede,  '  are  small  vessels  composed  of  mixed  metal, 
which,  when  stricken  together  on  the  concave  side, 


PERFORMER  ON  A  SQUARE 
PSALTERY  OF  THE  NINTH 
CENTURY. 


SAMBUCA-CANTICUM  115 

in  skilful  time,  produce  by  their  delightful  collision  a 
very  sharp  note.'  The  modern  cymbals  do  no  more 
than  this,  so  that  in  this  detail  we  are  not  more 
advanced  than  were  our  far-off  ancestors. 

The  Cotton  MSS.,  so  full  of  interesting  early 
musical  data,  give  particulars  of  another  curious 
Anglo  -  Saxon  instrument  called  the  sambuca- 
canticum.  It  appears  to  have  been  a  wind  and 
string  instrument  combined,  of  long  triangular  shape, 
with  seven  strings  in  its  lower 
part,  and  three  pipes  in  the 
upper  end.  Possibly  the  seven 
strings  were  attuned  to  the 
tones  of  the  natural  scale — our 
diatonic  scale.  The  pipes  have 
sound-holes  bored  at  their  sides, 
but  whether  they  emitted  sounds,  plectra. 

or   were    blown    into    with    the    (a- from \a ,G/eek vasi *" \the 

British  Museum;  b,  from 

lips,  can  only  be  matters  of  con-      awaii-painting  at  Pom- 
jecture.    The  instrument,  at  any 
rate,  testifies  to  the  pertinacity  with  which  our  pro- 
genitors   applied    themselves    in    their   quest   after 
music. 

Aldhelm,  Abbot  of  Malmesbury,  and  subsequently 
Bishop  of  Sherborne  (circa  650,  died  709),  credits 
the  Saxons  with  the  trumpet,  referring  to  it  in  one 
of  his  eight-lined  epigrams  as  a  warlike  instrument  ; 
and  he  could  scarcely  be  confounding  it  with  the 
hunting-horn — a  sort  of  trumpet — since  that  was  as 


n6  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

old  as  the  country  itself.      Instruments  of  the  flute 
and  reed  tribes  seem  to  have  been  unknown. 

That  they  possessed  bells  also  seems  clear  from 
the  accounts  we  have  of  the  death  of  ^Ethelwald, 
King  of  England  (circa  850-905),  at  whose  burial 
we  read  '  bells  were  rung,  and  Masses  sung.'  The 
earliest  notice  we  have  of  a  belfry  and  a  ring  of 
bells  is  contained  in  the  following  :  '  Egelric,  Abbot 
of  Croyland  (died  984)  in  the  time  of  King  Edgar, 
caused  a  peal  of  bells  to  be  made  for  his  abbey,  to 
each  of  which  he  gave  names.  His  predecessor, 
Turketal,  had  previously  led  the  way  in  this  re- 
spect.'* The  celebrated  Benedict! onal  of  St.  ^Ethel- 
wold,  in  the  library  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire, 
furnishes  us  with  an  early  instance  of  a  belfry  with 
four  bells.  The  illumination,  showing  the  belfry  and 
bells  surmounted  by  chanticleer,  appears  in  the  MS. 
executed  at  Hyde  Abbey  about  the  year  980  a.d. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  were  also,  it  would  appear, 
acquainted  with  chords  long  before  the  tenth  century, 
for,  according  to  Bede,  '  a  deft  harper,  in  drawing 
up  the  cords  of  his  instrument,  tunes  them  to  such 
pitches  that  the  higher  may  agree  in  harmony  with 
the  lower,  some  differing  by  a  semitone,  a  tone,  or 
two  tones  ;  others  yielding  the  consonance  of  the 
diatessaron,  diapente,  or  diapason  '—i.e.,  the  fourth, 
fifth,  and  octave. 

In  the  face  of  all  this  evidence,  it  is  difficult  to  think 
*  'Ecclesiastical  History'  (Collier),  vol.  i.,  p.  198. 


SCANTY   WIND  INSTRUMENTS  117 

of  our  English  or  Saxon  forefathers  other  than  as  a 
distinctly  musical  race  provided  with  appurtenances 
for  a  fair  musical  performance.  The  absence  of 
wind  instruments  would  leave  a  hiatus  between  their 
string  and  percussion  instruments,  which  could, 
however,  have  been  appreciably  lessened  by  the 
interposition  of  vocal  music.  Whether  singing  was 
so  employed  is  not  known.  Some  early  light  has 
been  thrown  upon  Anglo-Saxon  musical  performances 
by  writers  other  than  Bede,  but  these  must  be  left 
to  another  chapter. 

Principal  Authorities. 

4  Bede  ' Stapleton. 

'  Historic,  Ecclesiastica  '          -  -  Bede. 

'  Chronicles  '  Ingulph. 

'  History  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  '  -  Turner. 

'Early  English  Church  History'  -  Bright. 

'  Saxons  in  England  '    -        -  -  Kemble. 

'  Music  and  the  Anglo-Saxons  '  -  Wackerbarth. 

'  English  Writers '  Morley. 

'  Social  England  '  -         -         -  -  Cassell. 

1  Ecclesiastical  History '         -  -  Collier. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SAXON   MUSICAL    ECCLESIASTICS    TO    THE    IN- 
VENTION OF  NOTATION. 

Dunstan — Abbot  of  Glastonbury  and  Bishop  of  London — En- 
courages the  Use  of  Organs — A  Mysterious  Harp — Dunstan 
a  Composer — The  Introduction  of  the  Organ — Aldhelm  and 
Bede's  References  to  Organs — Wulfstan  on  the  Winchester 
Organ — ^Elfheah — Representations  of  Early  English  Organs 
— Influence  of  the  Organ — Wulfstan  on  Orchestral  Resources 
in  Church — Ecclesiastical  Music  Schools — Canterbury — In- 
fluence of  Religious  Music — An  Antidote  to  Profane  Music 
— Duplicating  the  Service  Books — Neume  Characters — In- 
vention of  Notation — Guido  d'Arezzo — Franco  of  Cologne — 
John  Cotton — Effect  of  Sacred  Music  upon  the  National 
Saxon  Character. 

Better  remembered,  inasmuch  as  many  churches 
have  been  dedicated  in  his  honour  throughout  our 
land,  is  the  Prelate  Dunstan  (925-975  a.d.).  The 
name  of  Dunstan  stands  out  in  early 
English  musical  annals,  as  well  as  in 
Church  history,  for  no  man  was  more  honoured  by 
the  generation  in  which  he  lived,  and  by  many 
generations  that  followed,  than  was  this  great 
ecclesiastical    statesman  and   man   of  culture.      Not 


DUN  STAN  AND  THE  ORGAN  119 


alone  was  he  an  excellent  musician,  who  composed 
a  Kyrie,  which  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  sample 
of  early  music,  but  he  fostered  and  encouraged 
the  art  in  others  to  the  extent  of  giving  personal 
tuition  to  the  monks  and  clergy.  He  conceived  a 
love  for  the  art  when  as  a  diminutive  fair  boy  he 
loitered  about  the  hall  of  his  father's  house  at 
Glastonbury.  His  chief  pleasure  was  the  singing  of 
the    Church    chants    and    traditional    sono-s    of    the 

O 

country.  This  passionate  love  of  music  grew,  and 
in  later  years,  when  he  became  a  scholar  and  teacher, 
he  always  carried  his  harp  with  him,  whether  on 
journey  or  visit.  He  even  suffered  some  contumely 
for  music's  cause.  Born  of  aristocratic  parents,  he 
was  brought  up  for  and  made  great  advance  in  the 
Church,  being  constituted  Abbot  of  Glastonbury  at 
the  early  age  of  eighteen  years.  This  great  church 
he  restored  to  considerable  splendour.  At  the  age 
of  thirty-four  he  was  appointed  Bishop  of  London. 
His  musical  talent  lay  especially  in  the  direction  of 
the  organ.  In  common,  too,  with  the  ecclesiastics 
of  the  day,  he  could  sing  his  part  in  the  Mass  music 
of  the  services.  The  organ  was  now  coming  into 
use,  especially  as  an  instrumental  support  to  the 
singing.  No  one  was  more  zealous  than  Dunstan 
in  encouraging  the  use  of  the  organ.  To  this  end 
he  provided  several  English  churches  and  monas- 
teries with  instruments,  in  order  that  the  service, 
music  might  be  the  better  rendered. 


120 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


In  those  days  music  was  the  highway  to  ecclesi- 
astical preferment,   and   Dunstan — soon    to   be  the 

twenty  -  third  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury — with  the  monks, 
spared  no  pains  to  obtain  for 
the  art  all  the  recognition 
which  it  deserved.  Unhappily, 
such  ability  in  music  at  that 
time  did  not  escape  the  at- 
tention of  calumniators,  who 
regarded    his 


talent  in  the 
light  of  a  crime. 
Dunstan  was  ac- 
cused of  magic, 
and  itwasur^ed 


against 


PRIMITIVE  ORGAN    (HYDRAULIC).* 


him 
that  he  had  con- 
structed, with 
the  assistance  of 
the  devil,  a  harp 
which  not  only  moved  of  itself,  but  played  without 
human  help.     What  he  merely  did  was  to  invent  a 

*  The  Saxon  name  for  a  bellows  was  bi/ig,  or  blast-belg ;  but  the 
organ-blower  was  rather  a  treader  of  the  bellows  than  a  blower  by 
muscular  arm-power — the  general  method  nowadays.  The  bellows- 
treader,  or  balgetitreter,  took  his  stand  on  the  furthermost  end  or 
mouth  of  the  bellows,  and  literally  pressed  them  down  by  the 
weight  of  his  body — thus  forcing  wind  into  the  pipes.  This  plan 
superseded  the  ancient  water  or  hydraulic  organ  system,  and  even 
as  recently  as  the  last  century  the  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  organ  was 


DUN  STAN  A   COMPOSER  121 

sort  of  JEoYmn  harp,  which  he  hung  against  a  crevice 
in  the  wall,  so  that  the  wind  passing  the  opening 
vibrated  the  strings.  The  soft  and  gentle  sounds 
thus  emitted  by  an  instrument  untouched  by  human 
hand  so  greatly  astonished  and  awed  the  ignorant 
people  that  they  accused  Dunstan  of  sorcery. 

Another  story  runs  that  when  he  was  one  day 
instructing  a  lady  of  high  rank  in  the  design  of  a 
robe  that  she  was  embroidering — he  appears  to  have 
been  frequently  consulted  for  his  taste  and  talent  in 
ornament  and  design — his  harp,  as  it  hung  upon 
the  wall,  suddenly,  and  without  mortal  touch,  gave 
off  heavenly  music,  which  melody  and  harmony  the 
worker-maiden  framed  into  a  joyous  anthem. 

Dunstan  is  also  said  to  have  been  a  composer,  a 
Kyrie  written  in  Neume  characters  in  tenth-century 
MSS.  being  attributed  to  him.  A  story  attaches 
to  the  composition.  On  a  certain  day  when  King 
Edgar,  who  was  still  alive,  was  going  a-hunting,  he 
asked  Dunstan  to  delay  Mass  until  his  return.  To- 
wards the  third  hour  the  man  of  God  assumed  the 
sacred  vestments,  and,  awaiting  the  King,  knelt 
before  the  altar  absorbed  in  tears  and  prayer.  And 
behold,  suddenly,  overcome  by  sleep,  he  was  taken 
up  to  heaven,  and  in  the  company  of  the  angels  he 
heard  them  sing  to  the  Trinity  with  tuneful  voices, 
Kyrie  eleyson,  Christe  eleyson,  Kyrie  eleyson.  Coming 

blown  by  treading  or  walking  upon  the  bellows.     The  larger  the 
organ  the  greater  was  the  number  of  men  required  for  the  business. 


122 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


to  himself,  he  inquired  if  the  King  had  returned. 
The  answer  was  'No.'  Again,  therefore,  he  fell 
to  prayer,  and  being  again  taken  up  to  heaven,  he 
there  heard  said  in  a  loud  voice :  Ite  Missa  est.  But 
when  Deo  Gratias  should  have  been  responded,  the 
clerks  came  in  haste  saying  that  the  King  had 
arrived.  He  replied  to  them  that  he  had  already 
heard  Mass,  and  that  he  should  neither  hear  nor 
celebrate  another  that  day.  On  being  asked  where- 
fore, he  recounted  his  vision,  and,  taking  it  for  his 
text,  forbade  the  King's  hunting  any  more  on  the 
Lord's  Day.  The  Kyrie  eleyson  which  he  heard  in 
heaven  he  taught  his  clerks.  Its  melody  is  con- 
tained in  that  trope  so  popular  with  the  English, 
Kyrie  rex  sp  leu  dens. 

MISSA— REX   SPLENDENS. 


Kyrie  Eleison. 


■ B 1 B ■■ *♦- 


Lord,   have  mer      -      cy 


up      -      on 


us, 


^T 


and        in  -  cline       our         hearts       to         keep        this      law. 


I 


Sanctus. 


Ho  -  ly,  Ho  -  ly,     Ho      -      ly,  Lord        God    of  hosts 


hea  -  ven  and    earth      are         full 


of  thy    glo  -  ry. 


MISS  A— REX  SPLENDENS 


«3 


Benedidus. 


BI: 


-)*♦! 


Blessed  is      He         that  com  -  eth 


in         the     name      of 


the     Lord  :  Ho  -  san  -  na       in  the     high     -     est. 


Agnus  Dei. 


of        the         world,       have         mer       -       cy      up    -    on  us. 


Gloria  in  Exceisis. 


Glo  -  RY       be       to       God       on       high,      and      in        earth     peace, 


ei=i 


-**j- 


good       will     to    -    wards     men.         We     praise        thee,         we 


Credo. 


I  be-lieve  in  one  God     the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth, 

The  introduction  of  the  organ  into  England — of 
which  more  anon — constituted  quite  a  landmark  in 
our    national    musical    history.      Not    only  was   the 


124  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

instrument  destined  to  play  a  chief  and  really  valuable 

part  in  the  church  services  for  many  generations,  but 

it  was  to  grow  into  a  musical  body  of  truly  wonderful 

power  and  workmanship  —  such  as  its  first 
Introduc-    L 
tionofthe  constructors  would  scarcely,  perhaps,  have 

believed.  In  time,  too,  gradual  processes 
of  improvement  and  development  ensued,  and  in 
these  the  English  workmen  were  always  to  the 
front,  until  eventually  the  best  organs  that  were  to 
be  obtained  in  Europe  were  constructed  solely  by 
English  firms.  To-day  the  building  of  organs, 
whether  for  church,  concert-hall,  or  chamber,  has 
become  one  of  the  leading  trades  of  this  country  ; 
and  if  the  British  workman  will  only  cling  to  the 
best  traditions  of  his  trade,  there  is  no  reason  why 
any  foreign  element  should  supplant  him  in  this  art 
for  very  many  years  to  come.  But  he  must  build 
lovingly  and  honestly. 

The  musical  tastes  of  the  monks  and  those  who 
attended  the  regular  services  of  Matins  and  Even- 
song could  not  fail  to  be  quickened  by  the  advent  of 
an  instrument  like  the  organ,  primitive  as  its  condi- 
tion was.  From  the  outset  it  possessed  one  quality 
that  lifted  it  above  every  other  instrument,  namely, 
its  '  sustaining '  character — a  property  which  proved 
of  great  service  in  the  Church  establishments  where 
the  singing  of  the  monks  had  no  other  support  than 
was  afforded  by  the  occasional  introduction  of  a  flute 
or  harp,  such  as  the  canons  of  the  Church  then  per- 


FIRST  ORGANS 


125 


mitted.  It  is  improbable  that  the  adoption  of  the 
organ  was  either  speedy  or  general,  chiefly  because 
of  the  cost  of  manufacture,  the 
time  occupied  in  constructing  in- 
struments, and  the  difficulty  of 
learning  the  art  of  organ-playing  ; 
although,  judging  by  the  earliest 
known  instruments,  the  first 
organists  were  scarcely  required 
to  be  very  dexterous  at  the  key- 
board. 

Some  doubt  exists  concerning 
the  first  use  of  organs  in  Eng- 
land. An  old  manuscript  known 
as  the  '  Utrecht  Psalter,' 


First 
Use  of    generally    supposed     to 

be  of  the  fifth  or  sixth 
century,  indicates  their  existence 
here  long  before  the  Conquest, 
and  as  early,  indeed,  as  the  time 
of  Augustine.  This  is  impro- 
bable, however,  since  it  was  only 
introduced  into  the  Romish 
Church  by  Pope  Vitalian  I.  about 
the  year  666  a.d.,  although  the 
instrument  had  been  known  and 
recognized  on  the  Continent  as  a  valuable  adjunct 
to  congregational  singing  long  before  that  time. 
Vitalian's   missionaries,    Theodore  and  Adrian,   are 


126  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

reputed  to  have  brought  the  art  of  organ-playing  to 
England,  and  they  were  also  charged  to  lead  the 
singing  at  the  Church  services,  and  to  instruct  others 
so  to  do.  Cassiodorus  {circa  481-577  a.d.),  Consul 
of  Rome  under  King  Vitigas  the  Goth  in  514  a.d., 
thus  describes  the  organ  of  his  day  :  '  It  is  com- 
posed of  divers  pipes,  formed  into  a  kind  of  tower, 
which,  by  means  of  bellows,  is  made  to  produce  a 
loud  sound,  and,  in  order  to  express  agreeable 
melodies,  there  are  in  the  inside  movements  made 
of  wood  that  are  pressed  down  by  the  fingers  of  the 
player,  and  produce  the  most  pleasing  and  brilliant 
tones.' 

Bishop  Aldhelm  (died  709  a.d.),  sometime  Abbot 
of  Malmesbury  and  subsequently  Bishop  of  Sher- 
borne, is  credited  with  introducing  an  organ  into 
England — '  a  mighty  instrument  with  innumerable 
tones,  blown  with  bellows,  and  enclosed  in  a  gilded 
case  ' ;  but  it  is  more  difficult  to  substantiate  such 
a  record  than  that  which  states  that  Dunstan  in 
his  musical  zeal  furnished  numerous  churches  and 
convents  with  organs.  Faithful  Aldhelm  !  In  order 
to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  lower  orders  of  the 
Saxons,  and  to  induce  them  to  listen  to  his  preach- 
ing, he  was  in  the  daily  habit  of  dressing  himself  like 
a  minstrel,  and  taking  his  stand  on  the  bridges  and 
highroads,  first  singing  to  his  listeners  some  of  their 
national  songs. 

When  Dunstan  restored  the  monasteries  of  Ely, 


GIFTS  OF  ORGAXS  127 

Peterborough,  Tewkesbury,  Glastonbury,  Evesham, 
and  many  others,  an  organ — the  latest  addition  to 
ecclesiastical  adornments — would  scarcely  have  been 
forgotten  by  the  musical  enthusiast  and  liberal- 
minded  Prelate.  William  of  Malmesbury  (1095- 
1 143)  chronicles  one  such  gift  which  Dunstan  pro- 
vided for  the  Abbey  of  Malmesbury  in  King  Edgar's 
reign  (942-974).  This  instrument  is  important, 
since  it  appears  to  have  been  entirely  made  by 
English  organ- workers,  who  had  become  such  skilled 
craftsmen  that  they  had  already  inaugurated  '  im- 
provements '  in  the  shape  of  copper  pipe  in  lieu  of 
lead.  In  this  particular  instrument  the  pipes  were 
of  brass,  probably  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a 
more  brilliant  tone,  and  it  appears  to  have  been 
fabricated  on  the  Abbey  premises,  probably  under 
the  direction  of  Dunstan  himself,  who,  to  his  other 
attainments,  added  that  of  an  expert  artificer  in 
metals.  Dunstan  gave  an  organ  to  Abingdon  Abbey 
also.  In  this  same  century  Earl  El  win  presented 
an  organ  to  the  convent  at  Ramsay.  On  this 
instrument  he  is  said  to  have  expended  the  then 
large  sum  of  ^"30  in  copper  pipes,  which  '  resting 
with  their  openings  in  thick  order,  on  the  spiral 
winding  in  the  inside,  and  being  struck  on  feast 
days  with  a  strong  blast  of  bellows,  emitted  a  sweet 
melody  and  a  far-resounding  peal.' 

Although   we  are  not  without  details  relative  to 
these  first  English  organs,  their  exact  character  can 


128  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

scarcely  be  ascertained  from  the  fragmentary  in- 
formation which  early  historians  have  left ;  while 
the  manner  of  playing  upon  them,  and  the  situation 
Character  of  the  organist,  or  organists — for  there 
ErMish  wou^  often  appear  to  be  more  than  one 
Organs.  — constitute  real  problems,  the  solution  of 
which  would  seem  to  have  departed  with  the  original 
organists.  That  they  were  instruments  blown  with 
bellows  is  certain.  Bede  describes  the  organ  of  his 
day  as  '  a  tower  built  up  of  many  pipes,  from  which 
by  the  blast  of  bellows  a  most  copious  sound  is 
obtained,  and  that  the  same  may  be  composed 
of  fit  melody,  it  is  furnished  on  the  inside  with 
wooden  tongues,  which,  being  skilfully  depressed  by 
the  master's  fingers,  produce  grand  and  very  sweet 
music'  Aldhelm  mentions  an  instrument  with  'a 
thousand  pipes,'  the  external  ones  of  which  were 
gilded — a  common  feature  of  Anglo-Saxon  organs. 

Thus  : 

'  Maxima  millenis  auscultans  organa  flabris 
Mulceat  auditum  ventosis  follibus  iste, 
Quamlibet  auratis  fulgescant  coetera  capsis. ' 

Some  further  insight  into  the  style  of  construction 
of  these  early  organs  is  gleaned  from  the  account 

Win-  which  Wulfstan,  or  Wulstan,  has  left  re- 
Cathedral  sPecting  tne  organ  erected  in  Winchester 
Organ.  Cathedral,  and  which  must  have  been, 
from  all  accounts,  the  musical  wonder  of  the  age. 
yElfheah,   surnamed  Elphegus   Calvus,   was  Bishop 


WULFSTAN'S  WINCHESTER  ORGAN 


129 


of  Winchester  in  935-951  a.d.,  and  provided,  among 
other  adornments,  an  organ  the  like  of  which  had 
not  been  seen  or  heard.  Wulfstan,  cantor  and 
Benedictine  monk 
of  Winchester 
(circa  900-963),* 
has  preserved  the 
fame  of  this  or^an 
in  a  poem  which  is 
printed  in  the  '  Acts 
of  the  Order  of  St. 
Benedict.'  Extra- 
vagant as  the  poet 
is,  it  is  improbable 
that  his  enthusiasm 
affects  his  accuracy, 
since  the  details  are 
clear  enough.  We 
learn  that  this  organ 
was  built  with  two  old  method  of  organ  blowing. t 

sound-boards.       It    was    erected    in    honour   of   St. 
Peter,   to  whom   the   cathedral   was   dedicated,   and 

*  '  Acta  Sanctorum  Ordinis  Benedict' 

t  An  essential  condition  in  modern  organ-playing  is  a  sustained 
supply  of  wind  uniformly  distributed.  Several  expedients,  involv- 
ing water-power,  gas-engines,  etc.,  have  been  resorted  to  in  order 
to  secure  the  desired  pressure  for  all  pipes  in  the  instruments. 
The  present  hand  system  of  blowing  is  not  satisfactory,  but  the 
jerky  results  from  pressing  the  wind  in  with  the  feet  must  have 
been  infinitely  worse. 

9 


Sl^bdljf  pnb  C»lc«nico,  f«  pi  btrft  i(  fcptxrfirlKn  Cud  «ibr<mih(  morbw. 
ORGAN  BELLOWS  AND  BLUWK.KS,  SHOWING  THE 


J  3° 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


had  twelve  bellows  ranged  in  a  row,  and  fourteen 
more  below.  These  were  worked  by  seventy  strong 
men,  who,  covered  with  perspiration,  laboured  with 
their  arms  so  industriously  that  an  immense  quantity 
of  wind  was  supplied  in  alternate  blasts  by  these 
bellows. 

The  poem  goes  on  to  relate  that  each  blower 
excited  his  companions  to  drive  the  wind  up  with 
all  his  strength,  so  that  the  '  full-bottomed  box,' 
with  its  four  hundred  pipes,  might  speak  worthily. 
Details   are  given  of  the  organist's   method.     The 

whole  four  hundred  pipes  he  pressed 
with  his  hands.  Some  pipes  when 
closed  he  opened,  others  when 
opened  he  closed,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  varied  sounds  re- 
quired. Two  monks  of  concordant 
spirit  presided  at  the  instrument, 
each  managing  his  own  alphabet  or  musical  tablature. 
Concerning  the  power  of  the  instrument  the  poem 
translates  forcibly  :  '  Like  thunder  the  iron  tones 
batter  the  ear,  so  that  it  may  receive  no  sound  but 
that  alone.  To  such  an  amount  does  it  reverberate, 
echoing  in  every  direction,  that  everyone  stops  with 
his  hand  his  gaping  ears,  being  in  no  wise  able  to 
draw  near  and  bear  the  sound  which  so  many  various 
combinations  produce.  The  music  is  heard  through- 
out the  town,  and  the  flying  fame  thereof  is  gone 


G 
D 

A 
F 

.Cll**MT 

C_  RELLf 

a\jci 

C 

a"b  o  de 

till 

G 

aT>cde 

lD>jSTKINl. 

1 

LUTIOIM. 

a 

*): 

•s^yy  — 

-OK 

viT*V 

— | 

ac 

— *M£^ 

MUSICAL   TABLATURE. 


out  over  the  whole  country.' 


,1  FORMIDABLE  INSTRUMENT  131 


1  Twelve  pairs  of  bellows,  ranged  in  stated  row, 
Are  join'd  above,  and  fourteen  more  below ; 
These  the  full  force  of  seventy  men  require, 
Who  ceaseless  toil,  and  plenteously  perspire  ; 
Each  aiding  each,  till  all  the  wind  be  prest 
In  the  close  confines  of  th'  incumbent  chest, 
On  which  four  hundred  pipes  in  order  rise 
To  bellow  forth  the  blast  that  chest  supplies.' 

Mason  :  Essays  on  English  Church  Music. 

This  oro-an  was  intended  to  be  heard  all  over 
Winchester,  and  probably  was,  since  the  city  then 
was  but  a  small  and  quiet  settlement  of  learning  and 
piety.  In  modern  times  there  is  no  such  ambition, 
which  is  well,  since  the  prospect  of  all  the  organs, 
say  in  London,  proving  as  persistent  as  the  church 
bells  would  be  too  alarming. 

An  instrument  possessing  forty  keys,  among 
which  were  the  semitones  of  the  chromatic  scale, 
and  the  compass  of  which  has  been  estimated  to 
have  been  three  and  a  half  octaves,  that  is,  from 

43E"  to    ^Ez  :  — i.e.,     CC    to    E — would 

-G- 

permit  of  much  that  might  have  proved  of  musical 
value,  provided  the  '  two  monks  of  concordant  spirit ' 
worked  in  harmony  ;  otherwise  the  consequences 
could  easily  have  proved  disastrous  musically  and 
physically.* 

Wulfstan    turned    his    fellow-pupil    Lantfred's    '  Posthumous 
Miracles  of  St.  Swithun  '  into  Latin  verse.     Of  Wulfstan's  verse 


132  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


The  representations  of  early  English  organs  which 
have  reached  us  cannot,  it  is  to  be  feared,  be  wholly 
trusted.  The  illuminations  in  MSS.  and  missals 
are  not  always  faithful  pictures  of  existing  instru- 
ments, but  a  curious  illustration  of  an  organ  of  about 
this  date,  and  apparently  a  faithful  delineation,  is 
given  in  a  MS.  Psalter  of  Eadwine  preserved  in  the 
library  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  The  pipes 
are  placed  within  a  frame,  and  the  surface  of  the 
organ  is  represented  as  being  perforated  to  receive 
a  second  set  of  pipes,  though  the '  draughtsman 
appears  to  have  sketched  one  hole  too  many.  The 
two  organists,  whose  duties  seem  for  the  moment  to 
have  been  brought  to  an  end  by  the  inattention  of 
the  blowers,  are  intent  on  admonishing  their  four 
assistants,  who  are  striving  to  get  up  the  wind 
supply,  which  their  neglect  has  apparently  allowed 

only  a  few  fragments  remain,  but  there  is  a  dedication  of  many 
distichs  to  his  Bishop,  /Elfheah.  The  Bishop  is  praised  for  the 
spirit  with  which  he  carried  on  the  building  works  at  Winchester 
Cathedral,  for  the  labyrinth  of  secret  crypts,  for  the  great  organ 
(on  which  he  expatiates),  and  for  the  great  tower  with  five 
windows,  surmounted  by  a  gilt  cock  with  a  sceptre  in  its  claws. 
Wulfstan  celebrates  the  stately  consecration  of  the  church  in  which 
eight  bishops  were  engaged ;  he  instances  also  the  holy  men  there 
buried,  Swithun  and  Ethelwold,  with  whom  ^Elfheah,  who  so  well 
follows  in  their  steps,  will  hereafter  be  joined.  This  MS.  is  in  the 
British  Museum  Collection.  William  of  Malmesbury  states  that 
Wulfstan  wrote  a  practical  work  entitled  '  DeTonorum  Harmonia' 
(On  the  Harmony  of  Tones),  and  describes  it  as  a  'very  useful' 
book.  As  a  fact,  it  remained  a  standard  work  for  two  hundred 
years. 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  ORGAN 


133 


to  run  out.  The  bellows  are  blown  in  a  manner 
which  we  here  meet  with  for  the  first  time,  namely, 
through  the  intervention  of  handles  instead  of 
directly  by  the  hands  ;  and  as  in  so  small  an  organ 
there  could  not  have  been  room  for  four  persons  to 
compress  the  wind  by  standing  upon  the  bellows,  as 
had  hitherto  been  the  custom,  we  may  infer  that 
they  were  loaded  with  weights  in  the  manner  that 


ANCIENT    ENGLISH    CHURCH    ORGAN,    WITH    BELLOW.-.    AND    DOUBLE 

KEYBOARD. 

(Eadwine  Psalter,  Cambridge  MS.) 

has  generally  been  supposed  not  to  have  been  intro- 
duced until  some  centuries  later. 

The  influence  which  the  introduction  of  the  organ 
actually  had  upon  the  services  seems  to  have  escaped 

the  notice  of  early  writers.      That  it  proved 
Influence  *  l 

of  the      a  great  boon  in  the  rendering  of  the  ser- 
vices, we  have  previously  suggested.   Those 
monks  of  old  who  chanted  the  Gregorian   Liturgy 
must  have  had  strong  throats  indeed,  and  have  sung 


134  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

lustily  to  have  made  themselves  heard  amidst  the 
solid  brick  and  stonework  of  the  more  important  of 
the  Saxon  churches,  without  the  aid  of  such  support 
to  the  voice  as  only  the  organ  could  supply.  The 
question  of  pitch,  too,  would  be  important.  Given 
an  accurate  starting-note,  which  the  more  gifted  of 
the  singing  monks  would  be  able  to  secure  readily, 
there  would  still  be  the  inevitable  sinking  in  pitch 
which  always  follows  unaccompanied  singing,  espe- 
cially when  the  congregation  takes  its  share  therein. 
This  would  be  more  present  in  hymn-singing  than 
in  the  restricted  range  of  the  Gregorian  tones  ;  but 
in  either  case  it  is  easy  to  conceive  a  gradual  and 
imperceptible  depression,  ending  eventually  in  the 
complete  disappearance  of  the  original  tune. 

Here  would  seem  to  be  some  small  additional 
reason,  therefore,  for  supposing  that  instruments  of 
some  kind  were  an  adjunct  in  both  the  British  and 
Anglo-Saxon  Church  services  long  before  the  intro- 
duction of  the  organ,  since  the  art  of  congregational 
singing  had  scarcely  reached  its  present-day  perfec- 
tion, when  here  and  there  congregations  numbering 
thousands  are  capable  of  producing  profound  effects 
from  plain,  unaccompanied  singing.  This  would  seem 
to  be  borne  out  by  Wulfstan,  according  to  whom  the 
instruments  employed  in  the  church  services  were 
not  restricted  to  organs.  He  writes  :  '  When  the 
choral  brethren  unite,  each  chants  your  prayers  by 
the  peculiar  art  whereof  he  is  master  ;  the  sound  of 


FIRST  STEPS  IN  COUNTERPOINT  135 


instruments  of  pulsation  is  mixed  with  the  sharp 
voices  of  reeds,  and  by  various  apparatus  the  concert 
proceeds  sweetly,'  from  which  we  may  fairly  infer 
that  the  Anglo-Saxons  resorted  to  all  their  orchestral 
resources  in  order  to  enhance  the  effect  of  the  Church 
service.  That  there  were  resources  in  every  choir- 
stall,  from  which  the  monks  could,  if  needs  be,  pitch 
their  intoning  notes,  and  which  would  aid  their  sing- 
ing if  occasion  required,  would  be  only  natural, 
albeit  such  details  have  not  reached  us.  It  was  not 
because  it  supplanted  such  musical  appliances,  how- 
ever, nor  on  account  of  its  valuable  properties  as  an 
eminently  suitable  foundation  for  singing,  that  the 
introduction  of  the  organ  into  English  churches 
stands  out  as  an  important  matter.  Its  advent 
meant  a  vast  stride  in  the  progress  of  the  art,  and 
a  mighty  step  in  theoretical  music.  Organists  began 
to  invent,  or  descant,  upon  the  organ,  by  which  the 
plain  chant,  or  canto  fermo,  had  another  part  as  an 
accompanying  melody  added  to  it.  Here  was  the 
first  step  in  the  opening  up  of  the  vast  field  of 
contrapuntal  science  and  possibility  in  which  the 
organ,  and,  later,  British  organists,  were  destined  to 
play  a  prominent  and  most  excellent  part. 

Thus,  the  music  of  the  Church  firmly  established 
once  more,  and  this  time  amoni*-  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
continued  to  grow  for  very  many  years,  exercising  a 
vast  influence  for  good  upon  the  minds  and  disposi- 
tions of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and  gradually 


136  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

but  surely,  moulding  our  national  musical  style  and 

manner.     View   the  matter  as  we   may,  we   should 

be  ungrateful  indeed  did  we  fail  to  acknowledge  our 

indebtedness  to  those  prelates  and  churchmen  from 

Rome   who   introduced   their  Christian   musical   art 

into   England,  and  not  only  took  pains  to  impart  a 

knowledge  of  it  in  their  wanderings  and  settlements 

in  our   island,    but   even  helped  in  the   building  of 

the  music-schools  in  which  they  were  afterwards  to 

serve  as  masters  and  instructors. 

The  first  of  these  ecclesiastical  music-schools  was 

inaugurated  at  Canterbury,  thanks  to  the  efforts  of 

Gregory,     Augustine — his     missionary — and     their 

successors.      Hitherto,  as  we   have  seen, 
Music- 
Schools  in   it  was  the  custom  for  the  clergy  to  travel 
England.  „  r  .  .  , 

to  Rome  for  improvement  in  music,  and 

frequent  requests  had  to  be  made  to  the  Holy 
College  for  teachers,  who  could  impart  the  Church 
service  music  here.  With  the  Canterbury  seminary 
once  provided  with  teachers,  all  this  was  at  an  end, 
and  for  many  years  afterwards  pupils  were  taught  to 
become  instructors,  and  were  then  despatched  to 
such  parts  of  the  island  as  owned  obedience  to  the 
Roman  see.  The  exact  date  of  the  founding  of  this 
music-school  is  unknown,  but  it  was  probably  subse- 
quent to  Bede's  appeal  to  Pope  Agatho  for  Church 
singing-masters  for  the  Northumbrian  diocese.  With 
the  increasing  need  of  singers,  as  the  new  churches 
sprang   up,    the    expense  and  delay   of   sending    to 


ADVANCE  OF  GREGORIAS  ML' SIC  137 


Rome  for  instructors  would  naturally  suggest  to 
Augustine  the  desirableness  of  such  a  home  school. 
We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  whatever  the 
British  clergy  had  formerly  possessed  in  the  shape 
of  musical  training-schools,  this  one  at  Canterbury, 
associated  with  Augustine's  name,  was  the  first 
school  of  its  kind  which  the  Roman  clergy  built. 
Here  we  may  be  sure  the  Gregorian  chant,  as  used 
in  the  different  parts  of  the  service,  was  thoroughly 
taught  by  qualified  Roman  masters  ;  and  this  with 
such  success  that  every  vestige  of  early  British 
music,  and  the  subsequent  Gallican  chant,  ultimately 
disappeared  before  the  rapid  progress  of  Gregorian 
Tones  in  every  part  of  the  island. 

The  effect  of  this  new  wave  of  religious  music  can 
be  imagined.  As  it  spread  over  the  land  it  did  a 
threefold  work  :  it  made  its  power  felt  as  a  beautiful 
and  fitting  aid  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God  in 
the  precincts  and  courts  of  His  sanctuary  ;  it  materi- 
ally shaped  and  moulded  the  musical  aspirations  of 
the  then  existing,  and  successive,  generations  of 
Englishmen  ;  and  it  went  to  the  hearts  of  the  rugged 
Saxon  races,  softening  the  characteristic  asperities, 
and  preparing  all  who  came  within  its  power  for  the 
better  reception  of  the  Gospel  message,  all  of  which 
was  propitious,  since  for  the  news  of  Christ  which 
the  British  clergy  had  taken  to  the  heathen  Germans 
they  in  return  brought  much  that  was  bad  into 
Britain.      One  form  of  this  was  the  amorous  songs 


«3« 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


and  romantic  effusions,  little  calculated  to  improve 
the  minds  of  either  those  who  sang  or  those  who 
heard  them.  These  songs  reached  such  a  pitch  of 
lewdness  and  indecency  that  their  suppression  be- 
came imperative,  and  in  the  work  of  cleansing  and 
stamping  out  this  pernicious  element  the  monks 
engaged  with  laudable  rigour  and  results.      Sacred 

music  was  the  anti- 
dote employed,  and 
its  elevating  power 
proved  as  beneficial 
as  it  ever  has  proved 
to  all  who  have  been 
brought  under  its 
benign  influence. 
Music — purest  of  all 
arts,  and  an  innocent 
and  beautiful  employ- 
ment for  mind  and 
body  when  shaped  in 
its  best  secular  forms 


DANCE   OF   THE   NINTH   CENTURY,    WITH 
LYRE  AND   DOUBLE   FLUTE. 

(From  the  Cotton  MSS.) 


— ever  becomes,  indeed, a  potent  agent  for  good  when 
it  reaches  philosopher  or  savage  in  the  form  of  sacred 
music. 

'  0  secret  music  !  sacred  tongue  of  God  ! 
I  hear  thee  calling  to  me,  and  I  come  !' 

Leland  :   The  Music  Lesson  of  Confucius. 

In  the  religious  houses  it  was  as  a  blessing,  since  it 
proved  well  fitted  to  fill  the  periods  of  leisure  and 


A   PRICELESS  GIFT  139 

relaxation  which  followed  upon  the  meditations  and 
offices  in  the  lives  of  saintly  ones  vowed  to  celibacy 
and  monastic  life.  Thus,  in  the  convents  and 
monasteries  music  was  always  present,  beautifying 
the  lives  and  minds  of  those  within  the  cloister  walls  ; 
while  to  the  outside  world  its  practice  was  constantly 
recommended  as  a  remedy  and  alternative  for  idle 
hours  and  unprofitable  pursuits. 

Here,  then,  we  must  close  the  narrative  of  the 
rise  and  progress  of  Church  music  in  England  from 
Augustine's  time  to  that  of  the  thorough  settlement 
of  the  Roman  Church  and  its  bishops  in  England. 

Christianity  revived  by  Augustine  had,  indeed, 
spread  wondrously  and  gloriously.  In  this  growth 
music  had  proved  a  great  aid,  since,  of  the  many 
churches  throughout  England,  there  was  not  one, 
probably,  at  this  time,  whose  clergy  and  congrega- 
tion alike  were  not  bound  together  by  the  musical 
sympathies  engendered  by  the  Gregorian  chant. 

Truly  this  gift  of  Gregory's  to  the  Britons  was 
priceless,  especially  if  we  consider  what  sacred 
musical  art  might  have  remained  without  it.  Nor 
was  Church  music  to  be  hastily  taken  from  the 
charge  of  the  clergy  and  monks  who  had  nurtured 
it  to  its  healthy  existence.  For  several  centuries — 
until  the  advent  of  the  first  of  the  glorious  roll  of 
English  Church  composers — sacred  music,  i.e.,  music 
of  the  choir  and  chancel,  remained  in  the  hands  of 
the  clergy. 


i4o  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


No  specific  sign  of  progress  marks  this  long 
period,  and  no  single  name  stands  out  among  the 
generations  of  priest-musicians,  monks  and  singers 
who  daily  chanted  the  services  through  all  these 
years.  Indeed,  apart  from  the  ecclesiastical  chant, 
the  clergy  would  seem  to  have  left  the  art  to  the 
outside  world,  for  the  genesis  of  harmony  appears 
to  have  sprung  from  the  northern  parts  of  Europe, 
and  it  was  not  until  several  centuries  after  it  had 
been  freely  adopted  for  secular  purposes  that  it  was 
admitted  into  the  service  of  the  Church.  Year  after 
year  the  vaulted  roofs  of  the  churches  rang  with  the 
old-accustomed  strains  from  the  deep-toned  throats 
of  the  monks — and  many  of  them  possessed  wondrous 
voices  indeed. 

The  apparent  standstill  is  easily  accounted  for. 
The  Church  had  her  settled  services,  with  the  ap- 
proved musical  ritual  direct  from  Rome.  Obedient 
to  authority,  the  clergy  were  content  with  this,  their 
duty  being  to  preserve,  and  not  to  alter,  either 
tone  or  inflection.  It  would  have  been  little  short 
of  a  rebellious  act,  or  even  heresy,  to  tamper  with 
the  service  music,  and  the  labours  of  the  monks 
would  be  directed  largely  to  copying  and  duplicating 
the  service  books,  rather  than  to  the  inventing  of 
new  melodies  and  cadences — no  light  task  if  we 
remember  that  writing  was  the  accomplishment  of 
the  few,  and  that  the  needs  for  choir  books  in  both 
old  and  new  churches  were  great.      Of  all  this  early 


INVENTION  OF  NOTATION  141 


monastic  industry  scarcely  a  remnant  remains,  though, 

happily,   its   influence   has  been  lasting,  and  is   yet 

traditional  in  many  a  church  library  throughout  the 

land. 

Not   only  did   missal,  gradual,  psalter,  and  anti- 

phonaria  need   to  be  copied  and  disseminated  this 

while.     The   art    of    musical    notation,    which    bad 

hitherto  been  in  a  crude  state,  was  corn- 
Invention  .  •     1       •     1 
of          manding  the  attention  of  musical  minds, 

and  was  soon  to  be  shaped  for  all  time 

by  the  splendid  discoveries  of  Guido  d'Arezzo  {circa 

950-1025  a.d.)  and  Franco  of  Cologne  {circa   1000- 

~+t  }$\\< +  $\  Tf  11 

Neumc  Characters,  invented  by  St.  Ephraim,  a  Monk  of  the  Fourth 
Century,  who  originated  the  Neume  System. 

1075  a.d.).  The  primitive  Neume*  notation  em- 
ployed in  writing  the  Gregorian  chant  was  the 
system  almost  exclusively  adopted  by  church  choirs, 
monasteries,  and  academies  formed  for  the  dissemina- 
tion of  sacred  song  through  the  tenth,  eleventh,  twelfth, 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  for  it  was  long- 
before  Guido's  masterly  and  intelligible  method  of 
lines  and  spaces,  or  Franco's  notes  of  various  lengths, 

*  The  word  '  Neuma '  is  derived  from  the  Greek  irvevfia, 
meaning  breath.  The  advantage  of  the  Neume  system  over 
the  alphabetical  system  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  consisted  in 
its  notifying  more  clearly  to  the  priest  where  the  inflexions  and 
modulations  were  required  in  the  chanting  of  the  Gospel,  Epistles, 
Psalms,  etc. 


142  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


*"  T  fr  nee  grcf     "fuvwcof    mCe    mtuf    ttv  if 

(«)  Neume  Notation  of  the  Tenth  Century. 


s.« 


me  oif  gb  f  ea  etnt  &c. 


3* 


Po  -  pu    -    le       me  -  us  quid       fe     -     ci  aut 

(b)  Neume  Notation  of  the  Eleventh  Century,  deciphered  by  Martini. 


535 


jfrryEF*"^7-.'^.        /l77-'l. 

(r)  Neume  Notation  of  Guido  of  Arezzo. 

o  io^ — ttat  re— ^emornm 


Co  -  ro  -  nat     re  -  gem        om     -     ni     -     um 

{d)  Deciphered  Neume  Notation  of  the  Latest  Period. 


NEUME  NOTATIONS  AND  DECIPHERINGS  143 


/     r 


Ceh 


t^lo^  lauelate 


deum 


Neumata. 


wm 


Ce     -     li     Celorus  laudate 

Translation. 


deum. 


-4 -j, — >    *>    i       i — '1  t  j  7a — "1       V-  " 

Per  "ficc  §*ef      jvcfmc  <?f         r*v(«,    mutf  t\*  \f 


Persi         ce    gres  •  sus     meos  in     se       -       mi  -    tis      tu  -  is 

Translation. 


-A4 flk 


t— ■■—      ■  *-  ^v^' «*■-  -^ — «►■ 


j£ -q,    j A^. 


^E 


De  si-tie   -  n   -   uni         a     nime         e    -    his     tribuis     ti     e  •  i     et 

Translation. 


144  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


became  general.  Its  characters  suggested  the  value 
and  pitch  of  the  tones,  but  coloured  lines,  as  in  the 
examples  a,  b,  c,  d,  had  to  be  employed  subsequently  to 
indicate  the  tonic  or  key-note.*  The  clergy  would  be 
the  first  to  hear  of  such  improvements  in  musical  nota- 
tion as  Guido  and  Franco  were  a;ivino-  to  the  world, 
and  slowly  as  the  new  fashion  of  writing  music 
would  become  known  to  the  copyists  in  the  monas- 
teries, the  manifest  advantages  of  the  stave  and 
measured  notes  would  not  be  disregarded  by  the 
heads  of  the  abbeys  and  churches. 

Guido  d'Arezzo,  Inventus  Mu^icce,  as  he  was  sur- 
Guido  named,  was  probably  the  first  to  use  the 
of  Arezzo.  Jines  as  weU  as  tne  spaces  of  the  stave, 
and  borrowing  some  syllables  from  a  hymn  to  St. 
John  (written  by  Paul  Diaconus).  the  patron  saint 
of  singing  in  those  days,  he  gave  us  the  well-known 
do  re  mi,  etc.,  with  which  we  '  sol-fa '  at  the  present 

*  The  red  line  was  introduced  about  the  year  900.  All  notes 
written  upon  it  were  F's ;  those  above  the  line  were  higher  ;  those 
below  it  being  graver  or  lower.  There  have  been  three  accepted 
systems  of  musical  notation  :  (a)  the  Alphabetical  letters ;  (/3)  the 
Neume ;  and  (y)  our  present  system  of  notes,  lines,  spaces,  and  a 
stave.  Of  these  the  Neume  partially,  and  our  present  system 
perfectly,  illustrate  the  undulations  of  the  melody.  The  alphabet 
method  did  not.  We  owe  our  notes  nomenclature,  and  the  F,  C, 
and  G  clefs,  however,  to  the  primitive  alphabet  system.  An 
ancient  Office  Book,  used  at  Winchester  Cathedral,  is  in  the 
Bodleian  Library  (775).  The  MS.  is  attributed  to  the  time  of 
King  Ethelred  II.  (d.  1016),  and  has  the  plain  chant  notes  written 
upon  lines  and  spaces  of  a  stave  with  four  lines. 


HYMN  TO  ST.  JOHN 


M5 


time.      The  following   shows   the  hymn   as   it   was 
anciently  sung,  taken  from  a  manuscript  of  Sens  : 


Ut     queant     la  -  xis,  Re  -  so  -  na  -  re  fi-bris,       Mi    -    ra    ges  -  to  -  rum, 


Fa-mu  -  li     tu   -  o-rum,       Sol    -    ve  pol  -  lu  -  ti,  La-bi  -  i       re  -  a  -  turn, 


Sane  -  te    Jo  -  han-nes. 

And    which    in     modern    notation     would    appear 
thus  : 


m 


-g- 


22. 


-G- 


22: 


-G G- 


-&- 


-JZL. 


m 


UT     que  -  ant       la 


xis,      RE  -  so    -    na    -    re      fi  -  bris, 
~      a      0  —b- 


-&--  - 


MI 


ra 


ges 


to     -     rum,      FA  -  mu    -    li       tu  - 


ttr&- 


rj2i 


-g — &- 


m 


-g- 


1ZL 


221 


-&- 


JZl\ 


-& — 


rum,         SOL 


ve 


pol  -  lu    -    ti, 


T?):G 

fj 

-G~ 

g'^^- 

-G- 

— 1 

•  a^&- 

~ 

. 

H££ 

-&—G- 

23       ° 

-& 

, 

LA  -  bi  -  i,  re     -     a-tum,  San     -     cte  Johannes. 

In    the    prologue    to    the   Antiphonarium,    Guido 
speaks    of  his    invention    as    follows :    '  By    Divine 

10 


146 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


assistance,  I  have  pointed  out  such  a  method  of 
notation  that,  by  a  little  help  from  a  master  at  first, 
an  intelligent  and  studious  person  may  easily  acquire 
the  rest  by  himself.     And  if  anyone  should  suspect 

my  veracity  in  this 
assertion,  let  him 
come  to  our  con- 
vent, let  him  make 
the  experiment,  let 
him  examine  the 
children  under  my 
care,  and  he  will  find 
that,  though  they 
are  still  severely 
punished  for  their 
ignorance  of  the 
psalms,  and  blun- 
ders in  the  reading, 
they  can  now  sing 
correctly,  without  a 
master,  the  chants  to  those  psalms  of  which  they  can 
scarcely  pronounce  the  words.'  He  then  explains 
the  use  of  the  lines  and  spaces,  and  tells  us  that 
'  all  the  notes  which  are  placed  on  the  same  line,  or 
in  the  same  space,  denote  the  same  sound ;  and 
that  the  name  of  the  sound  is  determined  either 
by  the  colour  of  the  line,  or  by  a  letter  of  the 
alphabet  placed  at  the  beginning  of  it :  a  rule  of 
such  consequence,'  he  adds,    'that   if  a  melody  be 


GUIDO   OF  AREZZO. 


GUI  DO  ON  HIS  SYSTEM 


•4? 


written  without  a  letter  (that  is,  a  cliff,  or  coloured 
line),  it  will  be  like  a  well  without  a  rope,  in  which, 

A 'SOUS    OK  TV  *     nnciromani  ^ 

A-  Tcrt£ccttnc*acrecu.u.v 


Sous   ok  1  v 
y    .fciiiettdoccxaucu 


„  •  1 •  •  1   •  nrctrrtcT  1  <m  c' 

I*  -      .      •     . 
oziofip-rmcipe-J 

Heam  ix  b  i-mtfero    V 


If     'T  •        *  *  a  1*1  j  "^        * 


totjij  j  /_:  jflwg 


A  so  -  lis     or  -  tu     us-que  ad  oc  -  ci-du 


Lit  -  to    -    ra     ma-ris 


planctus  pulsat  pec  -  to  -  ra  ;      Ul  -  tra     ma  -  ri  -  na         ag-mi  -  na  tris- 


tfmimtf^-^-twty^ 


ti  -  a 


Te    -    ti  -  git       in-gens  cu 


m  er  -  ro  -  re   ni  -  mi-o. 


— =^ — •* ■*■'    L 


£z=:_e j=F 


Heu 


me  do  -  lens,  plan  -  go  I 

M.C.ME    NOTATION    AND   TRANSLATION. 


148 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


±±  -f^mW-  c-J  '•  Sri 


— r~i — r^ ri 


Franci,  Ro  ma  -  ni  at-que  cuncti  creduli,     Luctu  punguntur    et  magna  mo- 


— i — i 


-4-#— j-p-  ■  -  *  -.^r.  y  — i— j-F-  ■•— i 


=t 


~i— r* 


:*:: 


zt 


-s>- 


i=± 


les  -  ti  -  a,       in-fan-tes,  series,     glo-ri-o  -  si     prin  -  ci-pes  ;  Nam  clangit 


&±3Ej 


£^ 


3S=^ 


iz^fcj=|:i*ifcjTjir:^Jri3L|zg,-izJIF=[j 


or 


bis         detrimentum    Ka  -  ro  -  li.        Heu  !  mi-hi     mi-se-ro  ! 


though  there  be  plenty  of  water,  it  will   be   of  no 


use. 


Franco  of  Cologne  identified  himself  with  the 
measuring  of  music,  i.e.,  the  determining  of .  the 
relative  lengths  of  the  notes.  The  hitherto  un- 
measured art,  or  cantus  planus,  he  spaced  out  in 
the  following  powers,  inventing  the  terms  maxima, 
longa,  breve,  semibreve,  and  minim,  to  express  the 
value  of  the  notes  : 


e,  "L  o-w  gilol  fin  eves 


*\ 


/       \TKeBrev^/      \to2$eW    ■    \l>teves/       \ 
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XOTES  AND  RESTS  149 

He  also   devised   the  following  '  rests  '  or  silences, 
giving  each  a  relative  value  to  its  agreeing  note. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  fourteenth  century 
that  characters  were  used  to  express  Time  in  music. 


1=1= 

The  Pause  which  fills  3  spaces  is  equal  to  a  Maxima           -         -         -  ' —  i- 

That  which  fills  2  spaces  is  equal  to  a  Longa     - 

-1= 

1 

That  which  is  placed  above  and  fills  half  a  space  is  equal  to  a  Semi-  ) 
breve                                                                                                       ) 

■ 

That  which  is  placed  below  and  fills  the  half  of  a  space  is  equal  to  a  ) 
Minim                                                                                                              \ 

■ 

A  glance  at  the  following  illustration  of  the  same 
period  notation  will  show  how  nearly  we  then  were 
to  reaching  our  present  characters  or  cyphers,  which 
neither  time  nor  invention  seems  able  to  improve. 

Large.     Long.    Breve.    Semibreve.  Minim.  Semiminim.  Chroma.  Semichroma. 

These  notes  proceeded  in  regular  gradations,  the 
large  being  equal  to  two  longs,  four  breves,  eight 
semibreves,  etc.  Any  note  written  in  red  ink  was 
diminished  a  fourth  part  ;  thus  a  red  semibreve, 
instead  of  being  equal  to  four  semi-minims,  was  only 
equal  to  three.  Thomas  Walsingham,  again  re- 
ferred to  in  Chapter  VIII.,  mentions  five  characters  as 
used  in  his  day,  viz.,  the  large,  the  long,  the  breve, 


150  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

the  semibreve,  and  minim.  He  adds:  'Of  late  a 
new  character  has  been  introduced  called  a  crotchet, 
which  would  be  of  no  use  if  musicians  would  only 
remember  that  beyond  the  minim  no  subdivision 
ought  to  be  made,'  to  which  criticism  it  only  remains 
to  be  asked  :  What  would  this  ancient  have  said  to 
the  quavers  and  demisemiquavers,  together  with  the 
whole  range  of  musical  fireworks  of  to-day  ? 

After  the  invention  of  the  Time-table,  music 
became  freed  from  its  bondage.  We  find  that  when 
music  meant  merely  the  chanting  a  few  sacred  words, 
such  as  a  hymn,  the  natural  measure  of  the  words 
supplied  all  the  time  that  was  necessary  ;  and  long 
and  short  notes,  corresponding  with  this  measure, 
were  sufficient  for  the  purpose  required.  But  as  the 
art  advanced,  and  more  especially  as  florid  counter- 
point— or  notes  of  various  lengths  sung  by  different 
voices  to  the  same  syllable — became  used,  it  was 
necessary  that  characters  should  be  invented  to 
express  time  in  order  to  avoid  confusion. 

As  against  this  doubtless  well-deserved  reputation 
of  Guido  and  Franco,  some  writers  have  urged  that 
hymn  tunes  exist  of  the  period  of  ^thelred  II., 
surnamed  the  Unready  (978-1016  a.d.),  with  music 
in  staves  of  four  lines  and  spaces,  thus  showing  that 
the  English  possessed,  and  used,  lines  and  spaces 
before  the  reputed  invention  of  them  by  Guido. 

A  somewhat  isolated  name  in  English  musical 
history  calls  for  notice  here,  since  the  bearer  of  it 


COTTON  AND  HIS  MSS.  15 r 


proved  a  famous  commentator  of  Guido.  This  is 
John  Cotton,  supposed  to  be  an  Englishman,  and 
whom    Gebertus    conjectures    to    be    the    same    as 

John  Johannes  Scholasticus,  a  monk  of  Treves, 
Cotton,  who  lived  about  1050.  He  was  the  author 
of  a  tract  entitled  '  De  Arte  Musica,'  which  he  dedi- 
cated to  Fulgentius  Episc.  Anglorum — an  English 
Bishop  whose  name  it  is  otherwise  difficult  to  trace. 
Whether  Cotton  lived  as  early,  and  was  of  English 
nationality,  has  been  doubted  ;  but  there  is  much  in 
favour  of  such  a  belief.  There  is  a  good  English 
ring,  for  instance,  about  the  name  of  'John  Cotton,' 
and  he  would  easily  acquire  the  classical  appellation 
1  Johannes  Scholasticus '  from  the  fashion  of  re- 
naming learned  men  upon  their  entering  foreign 
monasteries.  Again,  he  must  have  lived  soon  after 
Guido,  since  Cotton  acts  as  his  commentator,  and 
recommends  the  Harmonic  Hand  system,  invented 
by  Guido,  to  those  who  wish  to  fasten  the  hexa- 
chords  upon  their  memories. 

Burney  states  he  saw  in  the  Jesuits'   College   at 

Antwerp*  a  Latin  tract  on  music,  of  which  Cotton 

was  the   author.      In  the  first  chapter  of  this  tract 

Cotton    Cotton  states  that  '  solmization  by  the  six 

MSS.     syllables,  tit,  re,  mi,  fa,  etc.,  was  practised 

by  the  English.'     As  it  would  have  occupied  some 

little  time  to  make  this  sol-fa  method  by  Guido  known, 

it  is  probable  that  Cotton  lived  somewhat  later  than 

*  Burney,  '  History  of  Music,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  96. 


152 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


2k  ■'-*■    ' 


1050,  which  would  agree  with  Burney's  statement 
that  the  MS.  tract  was  written  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury. The  tract  appears  to  have  been 
duplicated,  a  second  copy  being  in  the 
Pauline  Library  at  Leipzig,  and  a 
third  in  the  Vatican. 

Burney  declares  the  work  to 
be  the  most  ample  and  complete 
treatise,  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  ancient  on  the  subject  of 
music,  that  has  been  preserved 
between  the  time  of  Guido  and 
Franchinus  (Gafurius)  (1025- 
1521).  The  Padre  Martini 
(1706-1734),  who  examined  the 
subject  very  carefully,  writes  : 
'  After  all  possible  diligence,  and 
the  most  minute  inquiry,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  discover  any 
author  who  has  given  the  intona- 
tions [of  the  Psalms]  in  notes  an- 
terior to  John  Cotton,  who  probably 
flourished  in  the  twelfth  century.'  This 
same  '  Father '  Martini  quotes  a  long 
passage  from  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
the  MS.  tract  to  prove  that 
the  predominant  and  charac- 
teristic note  of  a  chant  used 
to  be  called  the  tenor,  from  teneo,  I  hold,  or  dwell 
upon.      Hence    the    prominent    position    which    the 


ANGEL  PERFORMING 
ON   A  STRINGED 
INSTRUMENT. 


SPONTANEOUS  HARMONISTS  153 


tenor  clef  or  part  has  always  taken  in  Church  music. 
Ouseley,  the  latest  authority  of  value,  does  not  insist 
too  strongly  on  the  English  nationality  of  this  clever 
didactical  writer ;  but,  considering"  the  prominence 
of  Cotton's  name  in  early  musical  history,  we  shall 
be  quite  justified  in  claiming  the  man  and  his  work 
as  an  ornament  of  the  First  English  School  until 
some  other  country  can  prove  that  it  has  as  strong 
a  claim  to  Cotton  as  we  have.  This  there  will  be 
great  difficulty  in  doing. 

An  interesting  anecdote  is  told  of  this  John 
Cotton,  who,  resenting  the  inappropriate  variations 
and  ornaments  in  which  it  was  the  fashion  with 
some  of  his  contemporaries  and  others  to  indulge — 
probably  these  were  the  more  musically  educated 
monks  who  added  their  extempore  harmonies  to  the 
canto  fermo — likened  them  to  revellers  who,  reach- 
ing home  late  at  night,  could  not  possibly  tell  next 
day  by  which  way  they  came. 

Here,  then,  we  leave  these  early  clerical  musicai 
workers  battling  with  the  mysteries  of  the  new 
notation  in  which  gradually  the  service-music  was 
to  be  inscribed  by  those  of  the  monks  who  best 
excelled  in  the  art  of  writing  and  engrossing.  We 
can  imagine  the  anxious  clergy  carrying  on  the 
services,  and  sacred  music  continuing  its  secret  influ- 
ence for  good  during  many  troublous  generations, 
when  all  other  intellectual  blessings  were  either 
withheld  or  banished  from  the  reach  of  the  people. 

Whether  it  was  that  an  improved  order  of  Saxons 


154 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


had  been  pouring  into  England  when  the  country 
was  fairly  conquered,  or  whether  the  steady  work  of 
the  clergy  was  beginning  to  tell  in  shaping  the 
minds  and  dispositions  of  the  people,  not  only  in 
religious,  but  also  in  secular  phases  of  life,  it  is 
certain  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  as  settled  and  reared 
in  England  was  a  different  being  from  the  conquer- 
ing Teuton  of  three  and  four  centuries  before.  He 
altered  wondrously  into  the  counterpart  of  the 
Englishman  of  to-day.  Of  course  the 
Church  was  responsible  for  most  of  this 
changed,  happy  condition  of  things  ;  but 
not  a  little  was  brought  about  by  the  later 
generations  of  Saxons  who  swarmed  into 
England  when  once  it  was  subjugated. 
All  the  germs  of  musical  art,  which  the 
branches  of  the  great  Aryan  race  brought 
with  them  from  the  East,  did  not  fall  in 
Britain  alone.  The  seed  settled  mainly 
on  German  soil,  as  genial  for  it  in  truth 
as  British,  and  when  music  first  gave 
signs  of  life  in  the  Western  world,  the 
throbs  were  simultaneous  in  the  districts 
touched    by  the   march   of  the   Orient 


ORGANISTRUM  OF 


™™..i!.INTH  emigrants.      So    that  while   music  was 


CENTURY 


prospering  in    Britain   under  the   later 

Britons,  there  was  growing  up  that  same  while  in 

Germany  an  art  which  was  destined  to  come  into  this 

country  as  an  influencing  factor  in  the  national  music. 

If   we   remember,   then,    that   while    the    original 


TEUTON  MUSICAL  CHARACTER 


155 


Saxons  were  little  better  than  savages,  their  later 
orders  were  comparatively  civilized  people,  it  is  easy 
Late  to  understand  the  advent  into  England  of 
Musical  many  musical  manners  and  customs  which 
Influence,  tended  greatly  to  the  advancement  of 
musical  method  and  practice  throughout  England — 
at  this  time  much  more  peopled  with  Anglo-Saxons 
than  with  Britons.  Among  these  habits  were  many 
resembling,  and  therefore  easy  of  alliance  with,  those 
of  the  Britons.  Settling  among  the  conquered  and 
almost  exterminated  people,  they  speedily  affected 
the  national  musical  character  ;  for  the  Teuton  music 
was  not  without  a  style  in  strong  contrast  with  Celtic 
music.  It  had  a  good-humoured  heartiness,  a  manly 
simplicity  and  strength,  together  with  an  impress  of 
sincerity,  which  rendered  it  a  sure  channel  to  the 
heart  and  emotions.  The  national  airs  of  the  Teuton 
races  bear  strong  testimony  to  this  view,  as  the 
following  examples  will  show  : 


GERMAN  PEASANT  SONG. 


iir  frr>m» 


=p 


^mCffea 


RUSSIAN  SOLDIER'S  MELODY. 


femii 


0-0 


£ 


1 56 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Then  there  was  another  and  a  more  affecting  ele- 

ment  coming   into  the  island  which  was  certain  to 

impress  the  national   musical   character.     This   not 

outwardly,  but  in  a  closer  and  less  seen  way.      De- 
fiant  and    detestable    as    the   muse  of  the   original 

Saxon  buccaneers  for  the  most  part  was,  it  improved 

appreciably  as  each 

generation  came 

went.       M 

forgotten, 

the  side  of 

sentiment 

ing    the 

musical 

strains  to 

which  the 

T  e  u  t  o 

mother,  sister 

and     daughter 

gave  expression 

This    domest 

music      exists 

every   tribe    a 

every  people.  The 
cradle  -  song,  lulling 
the  infant  to  sleep  ;  the  plaint  of  the  maiden,  dream- 
ing of  her  far-off  lover  at  the  wars  ;  the  child's  tuneful 
measure  at  her  every  step — this  natural  music,  which 
knows  no  particular  age,  nor  people,  came  with  the 


GUIDONIAN   OR   HARMONIC   HAND. 


DOMESTIC  MUSIC  157 


sterner  Saxon  muse.  Whenever  met,  it  is  like  the 
air  we  breathe — is  as  varied  as  the  wants  and  aspira- 
tions which  fill  every  mind  ;  and  it  was  this  softer 
feature  in  Saxon  music  that  drifted  into  England  to 
help  to  mould  the  present  English  musical  character. 
We  can  only  surmise  as  to  its  nature,  since  no 
domestic  music  of  such  early  times  has  come  down 
to  us.  We  shall  not  be  far  wrong  in  concluding, 
however,  that  it  was  music  of  that  homely  kind  and 
inborn  origin  which  is  to  be  heard  in  the  nursery 
and  at  the  spinning-wheel  to-day,  music  which  comes 
and  goes  we  know  not  how  or  whither  ;  music, 
albeit,  which  makes  a  silent  and  imperceptible,  yet 
lasting,  impression  upon  all  who  hear  it. 

Principal  Authorities. 

'  Early  English  Church  History '  -  Bright. 

'  His  form  Ecclesiastica  '  Bede. 

'  History  of  England '         -         -         -         -  Lingard. 

'  Music  and  the  Anglo-Saxons '    -  -  Wackerbarth. 

1  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians  '  -  Grove. 

'Essays  on  English  Church  Music'     -         -  Mason. 

'The  Organ  :  its  History  and  Construction  '  Hopkins-Rimbault. 

'  History  of  Music  '   -         -        -         -         -  Burney. 

'  History  of  Music  '   -         -         -         -         -  Hawkins. 

'  LArt  Harmonique  aux   XII'  et  XIII  )  Coussernaker. 

Sleeks '  ' 

'  History  of  Music  '   -  -  Kiesewetter. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

LATE  SAXON  AND  EARLY  NORMAN  MUSIC. 

Alfred,  King  and  Musician  —  Spying  the  Danish  Camp  — 
Baldulph  and  Athelstan  feigning  Music — Alfred  founds 
Oxford  University — John,  the  First  Music  '  Professor  ' — The 
Coming  of  the  Danes — Christian  Shrines  and  Sanctuaries — 
Canute's  Taste  for  Music — The  Monks  of  Ely — Gunhilda's 
Wedding-music — .Elfric — Aaron — Church  Music  under  the 
Danes — Church  Music  still  influencing  the  People— Popular 
Street  Songs — Westminster  and  Waltham  Abbeys — The 
Coming  of  the  '  Conqueror  '  —  Norman  Ecclesiastics  — 
William's  Visits  to  the  Churches — A  Singing  Squabble  at 
Glastonbury — Music  among  the  Normans — Native  Music 
under  Norman  Rule — Crellan,  Soldier-musician — Music  under 
William  II. — Chanting  at  Shrewsbury  School — Winchester 
Cathedral — Henry  I.  punishing  a  Minstrel — Rahere,  Musician 
to  Henry  I. — John  of  Salisbury — Church  Music  in  Stephen's 
Reign — Town  Amusements  in  Henry  IP's  Reign. 

No  name  in  British  musical  story  possesses  greater 
charm  than  does  that  of  Alfred,  surnamed  the 
Great  (849-901   a.d.),  King  of  the  Saxons,  since  it 

is  with   him   that  we    are    introduced    to 
Alfred- 
King  and     one    of    the    most    interesting    stories    in 
IYI  j  nstrel  ■ 

earliest  English  musical  life.     Alfred  was 

not  only  a  warrior,  but  the  legislator  of  his  people  ; 


ALFRED— K I XG  AXD  MIXSTREL 


•59 


he  was  also  a  patron  of  music  and  the  arts,  a  natural 
taste  for  which  we  find  being  stimulated  early  in  life 
by  his  fond  mother  Osburga.  She,  anxious  that  her 
children  should  learn  to  read,  once  showed  them  a 
Saxon  poem  elegantly  written  and  beautifully  illu- 
minated, which  she  promised  to  the  one  who  should 
first  learn  to  read  it.  This  proved  to  be  Alfred. 
He  stands  the  first  among 
those  enlightened  English 
monarchs  whose  prescient 
rule  has  seen  the  true 
advancement  of  their  sub- 
jects only  in  their  social 
and  moral  greatness ;  a 
spirit  well  reflected — need 
it  be  mentioned  ? — in  the 
person  of  our  present 
gracious  Sovereign. 

Flourishing  towards  the 
end  of  the  ninth  century,  Alfred,  among  other  parts 
which  well  fitted  him  to  rule,  was  an  excellent 
musician.  Contemporary  writers,  like  his  tutor  and 
biographer,  Asser,  Bishop  of  Sherborne  (died  910 
a.u.),  Friar  John,  and  Grimbald  the  monk — Mass 
Priests— all  speak  in  glowing  terms  of  Alfred's 
musical  ability,  and  of  his  encouragement  of  the  art 
among  his  people.  At  the  death  of  Ethelred  he  was 
called  to  the  throne  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the 
West   Saxons,    and   from   that   day   to   the   time   of 


ALFRED    THE   GREAT. 


160  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

his  death  he  was  occupied  mainly  in  combating  the 
successive  incursions  of  the  Danes. 

Victory  did  not  always  favour  him,  and  it  was 
consequent  upon  a  crushing  defeat  that  we  get  the 
story  of  how  he,  cautious  and  solicitous  for  the 
Alfred  welfare  of  his  kingdom,  determined  to  first 
Danish  ^earn  tne  strength  of  the  enemy  ere  risking 
Camp,  another  overpowering  by  numbers.  Pon- 
dering, probably  during  his  secure  winter  retreat 
among  the  marshes  of  Somerset,  he  conceived  the 
idea  of  spying  out  the  Danish  camp,  and  it  was  in 
connection  with  the  carrying  out  of  this  resolve  that 
Alfred  comes  before  us  in  the  double  capacity  of  a 
fearless,  cautious  strategist  as  well  as  a  talented 
musical  Monarch,  full  of  concern  for  his  people. 
Disguising  himself  as  a  minstrel,  for  he  had  a  master 
hand  for  the  harp,  he,  unbeknown  to  any  of  his 
soldiers,  made  his  way  towards  the  Danish  encamp- 
ment, and,  little  by  little,  so  ingratiated  himself  with 
the  sentinels  by  his  singing  and  harp-playing  that 
one  night  (878  a.d.)  he  found  himself  a  welcome 
guest  in  the  very  heart  of  the  camp  of  the  Danes. 
He  does  not  appear  to  have  excited  suspicion  among 
his  foes ;  on  the  contrary,  the  Danish  chief,  and 
those  who  sat  at  his  table,  were  charmed  by  his 
singing  to  the  harp  accompaniments.  This  is 
scarcely  to  be  wondered  at,  inasmuch  as  before  he 
was  twelve  years  old,  Alfred  could  sing  a  variety 
of  Saxon  songs,  which  he  had  learned  from  hearing 


SPYING  THE  DANISH  CAMP  161 


them  sung  by  others.  He  was  provided  with  a 
good  store,  therefore,  to  entertain  Guthrun,  the 
Danish  leader,  and  his  soldiers. 

Bale  (1495-1563)  asserts  that  King  Alfred  ex- 
celled in  music,  and  his  information  was  derived 
probably  from  ancient  MSS.  which,  though  existing  in 
his  time,  are  now  lost.  Sir  John  Spelman  (died  1643), 
who  wrote  the  '  Life  of  Alfred  the  Great,'  confirms 
Bale,  adding  :  '  King  Alfred  provided  himself  of 
musitians,  not  common  or  such  as  knew  but  the 
praticle  part,  but  men  skilful  in  the  art  itself,  whose 
skill  and  services  he  yet  further  improved  with  his 
own  instructions.' 

Some  writers  question  the  truth  of  this  story  of 
Alfred  and  the  Danish  camp,  attributing  to  it  a 
legendary  nature  ;  but  apart  from  the  evidence  of 
contemporary  historians,  it  is  quite  consistent  with 
the  spirit  and  musical  custom  of  the  age.  To 
explore  the  Danish  camp  in  the  disguise  of  a  harper 
would  be  no  impossible  proceeding  in  the  case  of  a 
race  as  well  disposed  towards  harmony  as  were  the 
Danes.  Moreover,  there  appears  to  have  existed  a 
sort  of  freemasonry  among  musicians  in  those  days  ; 
the  man  who  could  harp  and  sing  could  gain  admit- 
tance to  company  wherever  he  went,  whatever  his 
nationality.  One  nation  received  the  musician  of 
another  with  every  welcome,  provided  he  was  suffi- 
ciently talented  to  please  by  song  or  tune.  It  had 
long  been  customary  for  the  Saxons  to  show  favour 

1 1 


1 62  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

to  the  Danish  scalds,  and  it  was  with  no  difficulty 
that  the  Danes  extended  a  similar  friendship  to 
a  wandering  minstrel  of  talent,  even  if  a  Saxon, 
wherever  he  was  met.  No  doubt  the  plan  of  sub- 
jecting the  security  of  a  camp  to  such  a  risk  was 
extremely  bad  generalship,  but  less  ingenious  military 
devices  have  been  resorted  to  successfully  to  the 
same  end  since  those  times.  On  many  grounds, 
therefore,  credence  should  be  given  to  the  story. 
Ingulph,  contemporary  with  the  Conqueror,  Henry 
of  Huntingdon,  Speed,  William  of  Malmesbury,  as 
also  the  best  modern  historians,  relate  the  story 
and  accept  it  as  trustworthy — this  especially  as  it 
is  now  known  that  the  incident  was  not  without  a 
precedent. 

Even  as  early  as  the  first  invasion  of  Britain  by 
the  Saxons  a  similar  occurrence  is  recorded  by  a 
native  historian  who  wrote  later.  Colgrin,  son  of 
that  Ella  who  was  elected  King  or  leader  of  the 
Saxons  in  the  room  of  Hengist,  was  shut  up  in 
York,  and  closely  besieged  by  Arthur  and  his 
Britons.  Baldulph,  brother  of  Colgrin,  wanted  to 
gain  access  to  him,  and  to  apprise  him  of  a  reinforce- 
ment which  was  coming  from  Germany.  He  had 
no  other  way  to  accomplish  his  design  but  by  as- 
suming the  character  of  a  minstrel.  He  therefore 
shaved  his  head  and  beard,  and,  dressing  himself  in 
the  habit  of  that  profession,  took  his  harp  in  his 
hand.      In  this  disguise  he  walked  up  and  down  the 


AULAFF  ELUDES  ATHELSTAN  163 

trenches  without  suspicion,  playing  all  the  while 
upon  his  instrument  as  a  harper.  By  little  and  little 
he  advanced  near  to  the  walls  of  the  city,  and,  making 
himself  known  to  the  sentinels,  was  in  the  night 
drawn  up  by  a  rope.""  The  date  of  this  incident  is 
reputed  to  be  the  year  495  a.d. 

If  further  proof  were  needed  of  the  power  of  music 

as  a  passport  in  the  times  which  we  are  considering 

— times  when  the  enmities  of  nations  could  be  for- 

Aulaff  in     gotten,  or  the  vigilance  of  war  eluded, 

Athelstan's    by   tne   sPe^   even   °^  a    stranger's   SOng 
Camp.       — jt  is  furnished  in  an  instance  parallel 

with  that  recounted  of  King  Alfred.      About  sixty 
years  after  Alfred's  adventure  a  Danish  king  made 
use  of  the  same  disguise  to  explore  the  camp  of  our 
King  Athelstan.     With  his  harp  in  his  hand,  and 
dressed  like  a  minstrel,   Aulaff,   or  Olave,   King  of 
the  Danes,  went  among  the  Saxon  tents,  and,  taking 
his   stand   by   the    King's   pavilion,   began   to   play, 
and  was  eventually  admitted.     There  he  entertained 
Athelstan   and   his  lords  with   his   singing  and   his 
music,  and  was  at  length  dismissed  with  an  honour- 
able reward,  though  his  songs  might  have  disclosed 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  Dane.     Athelstan  was  saved 
from  the  consequences  of  this  stratagem  by  a  soldier 
who  had  observed  Aulaff  bury  the  money  which  had 
been  given  him,  either  from  some  scruple  of  honour 
or  superstitious  feeling. 

*  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth. 


1 64  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

As  soon  as  Aulaff  was  out  of  danger,  the  soldier 
recounted  the  circumstances  to  Athelstan,  and  to 
the  charge  of  perfidy  indignantly  replied  :  '  No  !  I 
have  shown  that  my  honour  is  above  temptation  ; 
and  remember  that  if  I  had  been  perfidious  to  him 
I  might  also  have  proved  perfidious  to  you.'  The 
King  accepted  the  apology  and  shifted  his  camp. 
Werstan,  Bishop  of  Sherborne,  with  his  troops, 
arrived  shortly  afterwards,  and  pitched  upon  the 
identical  spot,  with  the  result  that  they  were  attacked 
in  the  night  and  killed  to  a  man. 

But  Alfred's  musical  example  and  worth  is  not 

to    be    remembered    merely  on    the    strength    of  a 

pleasant  story.      In  his  zeal  for  the  advancement  of 

learning  and  culture,  he  is  credited  with 
Alfred  and  s 

Oxford  the  founding  of  Oxford  University. 
Here  he  inaugurated  the  first  school  in 
England  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  and  diffusing 
a  knowledge  of  the  art  of  music.  Theoretical  as 
well  as  practical  music  was  taught  therein,  for  it 
is  on  record  that  in  the  year  886  a.d.  the  King  be- 
stowed on  the  afore-mentioned  Friar  John,  one  of  the 
teachers  of  theory,  the  title  of  Prselector- Professor 
of  Music,  which  is  probably  the  first  instance  of  the 
use  of  that  term.  It  would  have  been  quite  in 
keeping  for  Alfred  to  have  so  done.  He  was  suf- 
ficiently learned  in  musical  theory  to  instruct  his 
own  '  musitians '  in  study  and  performance,  and  apart 
from  the  custom  of  the  times,  whereby  every  gentle- 


ALFRED  AND  THE  CHAIR  OF  MUSIC  165 

man  learnt  music,  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  that 
Alfred  practised,  and  was  a  proficient  performer  on 
some  instrument,  probably  the  harp.  In  the  King's 
own  words,  '  Instrument-playing  was  common  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  it  was  shameful  to  be  ignorant 
of  it.' 

Asser  mentions  Alfred's  fondness  for  the  oral 
Anglo-Saxon  poems  and  songs,  which  he  learnt  by 
rote,  and  then  sang  to  an  instrumental  accompani- 
ment. On  the  whole,  therefore,  this  English  King's 
musical  reputation  will  bear  scrutiny. 

It  is  recorded  among  the  annals  of  the  Church  at 
Winchester  that  Alfred  founded  a  musical  professor- 
ship at  Oxford.  This  small  beginning  has  developed 
into  that  great  music  school  of  the  University  which 
has  wrought  such  o-ood  for  the  art  in  E no-land,  and 
from  which  so  many  famous  British  composers  have 
taken  their  musical  degrees.      King  Alfred,  with  his 

Chair  harmonious  tendencies  and  culture,  greatly 
of  Music.  aic|ecl  Church  music,  and  no  doubt  it  was 
as  much  in  the  cause  of  sacred  as  of  secular  art  that 
he  founded  the  Chair  of  Music  at  Oxford  which 
Joannes  Monachus — Friar  John  of  St.  David's — 
was  the  first  to  fill.* 

*  Some  writers  dispute  Alfred's  connection  with  the  University 
foundation,  and  state  that  it  is  supported  only  by  documents 
known  to  be  forged,  just  as  the  stories  attributing  the  foundation 
of  Cambridge  to  Cantaber,  a  mythical  Spanish  prince,  or  to 
Sigebert,  King  of  the  East  Angles  in  the  seventh  century,  are  by 
some  held  to  be  the  stupidest  of  historical  fabrications.     Much 


1 66  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


We  have  seen  thats  according  to  Bale,  Alfred's 
knowledge  of  the  art  was  by  no  means  a  superficial 
one,  and  this  can  be  well  imagined  when  we  are  told 
that  that  royal  personage  was  able  to  improve  criti- 
cally upon  no  less  an  authority  than  Bede.  The 
matter  was  Bede's  description  of  the  sacred  poet 
Csedmon's  embarrassment  when  the  harp  was  pre- 
sented to  him  in  turn,  that  he  might  sing  to  it — 
'he  hearpan  singan.'  Bede  writes:  '  Surgebat  a 
media  ccena,  et  egressus,  ad  suum  domum  repedabat.' 

Alfred,  literary  critic  that  he  was,  espied  the 
point,  however,  and  adds  that  Caedmon  not  only 
arose,  but  arose  for  shame — 'aras  he  for  sceome  ' — 
thus  conveying  the  fact  that  it  was  a  disgrace,  as 
then  it  really  was,  and  should  be  now,  to  be  ignorant 
of  the  musical  art.  Musicians  may  ever  be  proud 
of  this  diligent,  heroic  King,  who  thought  it  nought 
but  a  privileged  duty  to  read  the  Psalms  to  the  people 
in  church  in  the  absence  of  ecclesiastics  and  nobles 
who,  amid  the  severity  of  the  times,  had  fled  either 
to  France  or  to  the  shelter  of  Rome.  As  might 
have  been  expected  of  such  a  Prince,  his  Court,  like 
those  of  other  high  personages  of  the  time,  afforded 


the  same  kind  of  argument  could  be  advanced,  however,  in 
respect  to  some  of  the  most  important  truths,  and  if  letter  and 
seal  had  to  be  produced  for  everything  which  we  are  asked  to 
believe,  we  should  soon  be  robbed  of  many  of  our  most  cherished 
possessions.  It  seems  to  us  more  than  probable  that  Alfred 
really  was  identified  with  an  educational  movement,  including 
music,  at  Oxford,  which  has  since  grown  into  that  great  seat  of 
modern  learning. 


CNUT  AND  THE  ELY  MONKS  167 

shelter  and  succour  for  the  minstrel.     The  name  of 

one  of  these   has  come  to   us,   Geraint,  blue-robed 

bard  of  the  chair  and  harper  to  King  Alfred,  a.d.  880, 

and  is  noteworthy  inasmuch  as  he  is  reputed  to  have 

been  the  author  of  a  grammar.      Unquestionably  the 

name  of  Alfred,  good  as  he  was  great,  is  a  worthy 

one  in  English  musical  history. 

The  Danes  made  their  first  descent  upon  England 

in  7S7   a.d.     They  were  sea-kings  and  freebooters, 

fierce  heathen  from  Denmark  and  the  Scandinavian 

lands,  who  from  the  eighth  century  to  the 
Coming  ° 

of  the     eleventh    poured    into    England,    seeking, 

D  ci  n  g  s 

like  the  English  themselves  three  centuries 
earlier,  a  definite  settlement.  Thev  landed  first  in 
Northumberland,  where  they  sacked  churches,  slew 
priests  and  wrecked  the  mother  church  at  Lindis- 
farne.  Especially  did  they  wreak  their  fury  upon 
Christian  shrines  and  sanctuaries,  spreading  uni- 
versal misery  and  want  wherever  they  went.  Year 
after  year  these  Danes  flocked  here,  until  at  the 
close  of  the  ninth  century  half  England  was  Danish. 
A  little  later  they  had  secured  the  throne,  and 
Canute  the  Great  was  King  (1017-1036  a.d.). 
Canute — or,  as  his  name  is  sometimes  spelt,  Cnut 
— was  a  terrible  destroyer.  He  repented, 
however  ;  and  when  he  afterwards  became 
a  Christian,  he  ordered  churches  and  monasteries  to 
be  built  of  stone  and  mortar  in  all  places  where 
himself  or  his  fathers  had  burned  the  churches  or 
minsters  during  their  wars  with  the  Anglo-Saxons. 


i68  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Canute  had  a  soul  and  ear  for  music,  as  an  interest- 
ing story  which  has  descended  to  us  tends  to  prove. 
One  day,  attended  by  the  Queen  and  his  Court,  he 
was  journeying  by  water  toward  Ely,  where  he  was 
to  attend  the  Feast  of  the  Purification  of  the  Virgin. 
Passing  by  the  abbey  church,  he  heard  the  monks 
chanting  their  '  hours,'  and  as  the  sound  of  the 
music  grew  closer  it  so  charmed  the  King  that  he 
commanded  those  who  were  rowing  the  royal  barge 
to  stay  their  oars,  in  order  that  attention  might  be 
directed  to  the  singing.  Some  writers  say  that  the 
King  was  so  enraptured  that  he  then  and  there 
broke  into  song,  and  sang  the  following  extempore 
lines.  This  seems  unlikely,  however,  as  the  frag- 
mentary stanza  preserved   to  us   points  to  another 

author  : 

GOepie  fungen  (5e  GOunechej-  bmnen  €ly. 
?>a  Cnut  ching  neu  Sep  by. 
popeS  enitep  noep  the  lane, 
anb  hepe  pe  pep  GOunechep  paeng. 

Which  translated  runs  : 

1  The  monks  of  Ely  sweetly  sung, 
Whilst  Cnut  the  King  there  row'd  along ; 
Row  near  the  land,  knights  (quoth  the  King), 
And  let  us  hear  the  song  they  sing.' 

Another  version  is  : 

1  Sweetly  sang  the  monks  of  Ely, 
While  Cnut  the  King  was  passing  by ; 
Row  to  the  shore,  knights,  said  the  King, 
And  let  us  hear  these  churchmen  sing.' 


GUNHILDA'S  WEDDING  SONGS  if 9 


The  question  of  the  influence  of  the  Danes  upon 
the  English  musical  art  and  mind  is  one  easy  of 
disposal.  If  any  effect  resulted,  it  was  for  the  worse 
rather  than  for  the  better,  for  their  plundering 
meant  a  retrogression  towards  barbarism,  and  a 
decline  in  learning  and  culture.  All  that  was 
beautiful  they  destroyed,  so  that  that  conspicuously 
religious  Prince,  King  Alfred,  has  left  it  on  record 
that  '  before  the  ravages  of  the  Danes  he  had  seen 
the  churches  of  England  full  of  ornaments  and 
books,  nearly  all  of  which  they  destroyed.'  How 
much  of  musical  worth  and  merit  disappeared 
through  these  severities  it  is  impossible  to  estimate. 
Such  a  wholesale  destruction,  not  less  than  that  later 
ruthless  havoc  wrought  by  Cromwell,  would  have 
been  sufficient,  however,  to  have  effected  the  most 
complete  effacement  of  all  musical  identity. 

Very  scanty,  if,  indeed,  any,  are  the  references 
to  music  at  this  time,  the  English  being  well  occu- 
pied, as  can  be  imagined,  in  keeping  the  Danes  as 

much  as  possible  at  bay.     Here  and  there 
Music  *  J 

under  the  a  name  especially  identified  with  music 
has  penetrated  the  gloom  of  the  Danish 
devastation.  The  name  of  Gunhilda,  the  daughter 
of  Hardicanute,  has  come  down  from  this  period. 
She  was  the  fairest  woman  of  her  time,  and  when 
given  in  marriage  to  the  Emperor  Henry  III.,  all 
the  thanes — both  English  and  Danish — accompanied 
them  to  the  seashore.     The  songs  which  were  com- 


i7o  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


posed  for  the  occasion  continued  to  be  sung  by  the 
people  at  their  convivial  meetings,  and  preserved 
the  memory  of  Gunhilda  through  many  succeeding 
generations. 

Another  noteworthy  personage  was  Turketal  (952 
a.d.)  a  royal  clergyman  and  chancellor,  who,  choos- 
ing to  become  a  singing  monk,  distributed  all  his 
wealth,  and  made  a  public  profession  of  religion 
under  the  roof  of  Croyland  Monastery,  where  he 
received  the  investiture  from  Edred  the  King, 
together  with  a  blessing  pronounced  by  the  Bishop 
of  Dorchester. 

About    this    time    flourished    y^Elfric     (circa   955- 

1006  a.d.)  the  writer,  the  last  great  name  connected 

with  our  literature  before  the  Conquest.    One  of  the 

first    pupils    in    the    monastic    school    of 
/Elfric. 

Ethelwold   at    Abingdon,   he   became    an 

instructive,  trustworthy  author.      His  works,  which 

include  '  Homilies  on  the  Saints  and  Fathers  of  the 

Anglo-Saxon  Church,'  and  his  '  Constitutions  of  the 

Monks  of  Eynsham ' — where  was  an  abbey,  founded 

by    Ethelmer,    of   which    yElfric    was    Abbot  —  are 

especially  of  interest  to  those  concerned  wTith  musical 

lore  and  learning.      In  his  day  the  delivery  of  works 

written  for  the  oral  instruction  of  the  people  was  in 

a  sort  of  recitative — half  sung,  half  spoken.     Thus 

yElfric's  writings  are  characterized  by  an  alliteration 

and  rhythm  somewhat  allied  to  the  rhythm  of  first 

English  verse. 


MUSIC  UNDER  THE  DANES  171 


But  one  other  name  remains  to  be  mentioned. 
This  is  that  of  Aaron,  or  Aron  (born  circa  1000, 
died  1052  a.d.).  He  was  a  Scottish  musical  writer 
who  was  Abbot  of  St.  Martin's,  at  Cologne,  in  the 
year  1042  a.d.  Little  more  is  known  of  him,  yet  his 
memory  may  well  be  preserved  as  the  first  of  that 
long  list  of  men  who  have  found  a  pleasurable  occu- 
pation in  writing  upon  the  art  of  music. 

We   have    but  scant   information    respecting    the 
fate  of  Church  music  under  the  Danes.     The  Gre- 
gorian chant  had  obtained  too  firm  a  hold,  however, 
Sacred      m  tne  churches  of  the  country  to  be  per- 

,.J!3«  ?'■£*»    manentlv  dislodged  by  civil  matters  like 
under  the  J  ©  / 

Danes.  war  ancj  strife.  It  might  be  stifled  by 
the  disturbed  times,  but  it  could  never  be  wholly 
eradicated,  and,  as  we  know,  it  has  not  been.  There 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  this  Roman  Church 
music,  with  any  remnants  of  that  music  used  in  the 
old  British  churches,  was  the  sole  ecclesiastical  art 
during  Danish  times  here.  The  Psalms  of  David 
could  certainly  be  heard  to  the  impressive  tones  and 
endings  for  ever  to  be  associated  with  the  name  of 
St.  Gregory.  The  National  Library  of  Paris  con- 
tains an  Anglo-Saxon  paraphrase  of  the  Book  of 
Psalms,  a  part  of  which,  from  Psalm  li.  to  cl.,  is 
attributed  to  Aldhelm  in  the  eighth  century.  There 
are  other  Anglo-Saxon  MS.  psalters  in  the  Cotton 
Collection  of  musical  manuscripts.  These,  the 
famous  '  Kentish  '  psalters,   the   collection   of  Latin 


172  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

hymns  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church,  preserved  in  a 
manuscript  in  the  library  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter 
of  Durham,  clearly  show  that  psalms  and  hymns 
were  sung  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church.  How  far 
they  were  understood  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to 
enter  upon. 

Many  and  varied  were  the  ways  in  which  the 
Church,  and  therefore  her  services  and  music,  con- 
tinued to  influence  the  social  manners  and  customs 

_.     .        of  the  people.     The  farmer,  for  instance, 
Music  ... 

Supersti-    took  his  religion  with  him  into  the  field. 

As  a  charm  against  bad  times,  he  obtained 
and  sprinkled  holy  water  upon  the  soil,  and  mur- 
mured a  Paternoster  ;  while  not  infrequently  he  took 
pieces  of  sod  to  church  to  have  four  Masses,  perhaps 
in  reference  to  the  four  Evangelists,  chanted  over 
them.  Then  he  replaced  the  earth  in  the  ground, 
amid  the  chanting  of  the  hymns  and  the  Magnificat, 
in  the  hope  that  the  morsels  blessed  might  leaven 
the  whole  extent  of  his  acreage  towards  a  bounteous 
harvest.  Music  and  medicine  joined  even  in  a  cure 
for  demoniacs.  A  collection  of  herbs,  made  into  a 
liquor,  had  seven  Masses  chanted  over  it,  and  was 
then  pronounced  equal  to  its  work.  One^ — the  final 
— direction  only  was  enjoined  :  it  was  imperative 
that  it  should  be  drunk  out  of  a  church  bell ! 

As  with  the  Saxons,  so  with  the  Danes.  The 
Northmen — Danes  and  Scandinavians — could  not 
permanently   resist   the  Church.      It  was  the   great 


SAXON  POPULAR  SONGS  173 


civilizing  agent,  and,  with  its  cosmopolitan  influences, 
was  a  great  power  in  the  land.  Sacred  music 
especially  proved  once  more  a  most  potent  agent 
for  good  in  the  imperative  work  which  the  clergy 
had  before  them.  When  Guthrun  signed  the  famous 
Treaty  at  Wedmore  and  was  baptized,  with  Alfred 
as  his  orodfather,  hundreds  of  Danes  followed  the 
example  of  their  chief.  Northumbria,  Mercia,  and 
East  Anglia  were  allotted  them  by  the  '  Peace ' 
Treaty,  and  in  these  provinces  they  were  gradually 
transformed  from  roving  pirates  into  agricultural 
settlers.  To  their  credit  be  it  said,  they  commenced 
rebuilding  the  churches  wherein  sacred  music  was 
wholly  kept  alive,  for  the  outside  world  people  were 
mostly  given  to  the  singing  of  common,  secular 
songs. 

One  that  used  to  be  sungf  about  the  streets  of 
London  in  William  of  Malmesbury's  day  {circa 
1095-1143  a.d.)  had  for  its  subject  the  marriage  of 
Gunhilda,  the  daughter  of  Hardicanute,  already 
referred  to.  Other  Saxon  rhymes  or  songs  popular 
among  the  common  orders  are  mentioned  by  Robert 
of  Brunne.  One  concerned  Gryme  the  fisher,  the 
founder  of  Grimsby  ;  another  referred  to  Hanelock 
the  Dane,  and  his  wife,  Goldeburgh,  daughter  to 
King  /Ethelwold — all,  unhappily,  irretrievably  lost. 
W(  >uld  that  some  of  these  songs  of  the  people  had 
had  the  good  fortune  to  descend  to  us  ! 

Little  more  remains  to  be  written  of  this  period  of 


174  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


English    musical    growth.       Before    passing    to    the 

consideration  of  music  under  the  Normans,  however, 

two  names  call  for  record.     The  one  is  that  of  the 

pious  King,  Edward  the  Confessor  (succeeded  1042, 

died  1066  a.d.),  more  fitted  for  a  Norman 
Edward  .  ' 

the  Con-  cloister  than  the  English  throne,  who  intro- 
duced  Norman  architecture  into  England, 
and  built  the  choir  and  transepts  of  Westminster 
Abbey,  which  was  consecrated  a  few  days  before  his 
death.  The  other  name  belongs  to  Harold  (succeeded 
and  died  1066  a.d.).  He,  anxious  to  advance  the  cause 
of  the  secular  clergy  in  opposition  to  King  Edward's 
care  for  the  regular  clergy,  built  Waltham  Abbey  as 
a  collegiate  foundation  in  1062,  and  provided  for  the 
maintenance  of  a  dean  and  twelve  canons  therein. 
The  former  of  these  buildings  has  been  closely  iden- 
tified with  English  ecclesiastical  music,  especially  in 
in  regal  and  great  civil  solemnities  ever  since. 

When,  on  Christmas  Day,  1066,  William  the 
Norman  was  crowned  King  at  Westminster  Abbey, 
a  great  social  victory  was  gained  in  England.     One 

of  the  first  institutions  to  be  affected  by 
William  g  J 

the  Con-  the  change  was  the  Church,  to  which  we 
stand  so  much  indebted  for  much  of  the 
vitality  which  music  possessed  during  the  earlier 
stages  of  its  history  in  this  country.  All  the 
bishoprics,  abbacies,  and  livings  were  filled  with 
Norman  ecclesiastics,  prominent  among  whom  were 
Bishop   Odo,    Remi   (Bishop   of   Lincoln),    and   the 


WILLIAM  I.  AT  CHURCH 


"75 


Abbot  Nicholas.  These  clerical  introductions  meant 
a  great  revival  of  the  observances  of  religion,  and 
therefore  of  sacred  music.  To  use  the  words  of 
William  of  Malmesbury,  '  You  might  see  churches 
rise  in  every  village,  and  monasteries  in  the  towns 
and  cities  built  after  a  style  unknown  before.'  The 
monkish  chronicler  says  that  '  William  built  and 
endowed  churches  in  abundance.  Scarcely  did  his 
own  munificence  or  that  of  his  nobility  leave  any 
monastery  unnoticed.  .  .  . 
The  monastic  flock  in- 
creased, and  monasteries 
arose  on  every  side.' 

William  himself  set  a 
good  example.  He  bore  his 
King's  helmet  thrice  every 
year  into  the  church.  At 
Easter  it  was  at  Winchester  ; 
at  Pentecost,  Westminster 
Abbey  ;  and  in  midwinter 
at  Gloucester.  Then  there 
accompanied  him  all  the  rich  men  over  all  England 
—Archbishops  and  Bishops,  Abbots  and  Earls, 
Thanes,  and  others.  Mass  was  chanted  and  hymns 
sung  to  overpowering  outbursts  of  Gregorian  tone 
and  inflexion. 

Among  the  changes  inevitable  with  newcomers 
of  any  age  was  one  which,  judging  by  its  reception, 
appears  to  have  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  those 


WILLIAM    I. 


176  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

immediately  affected  by  it.     This  change  was  none 

other  than  an  alteration  in  the  style  of  singing.      It 

is  curious  how  in  those  early  times  the  question  of  a 

musical  innovation  met  with  much  the  same  fate  as 

_,  such   things  often  do  nowadays.     The 

Squabble       m  &  3 

at  instance  of  a  free  fight  in  the  choir-stalls 

Glastonbury.  .  . 

will   rarely   rind   its  parallel  in  modern 

times,    however.       Holinshed,     writing    of    Church 

matters  in  William's  reign,  mentions  a  strife  which 

existed  between  Thurstan,  Abbot  of  Glastonbury,  a 

Norman,  and  his  monks  :  '  One  cause  thereof  was, 

for  that  the  Abbot  would  have  compelled  them  to 

have  left  the   plaine   song  or  note,   for  the  service 

which   Pope  Gregorie  had  set  foarth,   and  to  have 

used  another  kind  of  tune  devised  by  one  William 

of  Fescampe.'     Words  came  to  blows,  and  at  one  of 

the  services  '  the  Abbot  got  armed  men  about  him, 

and  falling  upon  the  monkes,  slew  three  of  them  at 

the  high  altar,  and  wounded  XVI I  J.      Howbeit  the 

monkes  for   their  part  plaied  the  pretie   men,  with 

formes    and   candlesticks,    defending    themselves  as 

well  as  they  might  ;  so  that  they  hurt  divers  of  the 

Abbot's  adherents  and  drove  them  out  of  the  quier.' 

Quite  a  pretty  little  musical  squabble  ! 

Of  the  social  life  and  manners  of  the  first  Normans 

in  England  we  have  but  scant  information,  and  the 

period   is    particularly   barren  in   musical    data   and 

material  ;  but  a  gentleman  was  expected  to  be  able 

to  perform  upon  some   instrument  of  music.     The 


CRELLAN:  SOLDIER— BARD  177 

Bayeux  tapestry  furnishes  a  representation  of  the 
proceedings  at  funerals.  The  corpse  of  King  Ed- 
ward is  there  shown  being  carried  on  an  open  bier 
on  the  shoulders  of  eight  men,  whilst  on  either  side 
is  an  acolyte  ringing  two  bells.  Then  the  corpse 
was  watched  by  priests,  who  sang  from  the  Officium 
Dcfunctorum  the  Antiphon,  '  Placebo  Domino  in 
regione  vivorum.' 

Scarcely  a  single  musical  name  has  descended  to 
us  belonging  to  this  period,  when  graver  matters 
probably  occupied  men's  minds.  It  is  easy  to 
English  imagine,  too,  that  the  Englishman  was 
under  the  reserved,  if  not  positively  silenced,  music- 
Normans.  ajjy^  especially  remembering  the  far- 
reaching  grasp  and  rapacity  of  the  Norman.  In 
remote  districts,  and  in  places  where  the  nature  of 
the  country  provided  a  safe  spot,  however,  the 
national  art  would  be  kept  alive  ;  but  the  old  in- 
habitants, whether  descendants  of  Britons  or  Saxons, 
would  retreat  as  far  as  possible  from  the  reach  of 
the  Norman  influence  or  interference,  By  this 
means  not  a  little  of  the  old  musical  spirit  and  prac- 
tice would  be  preserved. 

Crellan  was  one  of  the  old  bards  of  the  country 
who  flourished  about  this  time  (1086  a.d.),  and  is 
heard  of  only  in  his  death-scene  as  the  harper  of 
Prince  Gryffydd  ab  Cynan.  He  was  killed — soldier- 
musician  that  he  was — while  fighting  in  the  cause 
of  his  Prince,  who  in  peace  times  had  fostered  and 

12 


178  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

provided  for  him.*     This  is  the  Gryffydd  ab  Cynan 
to    whom    Dr.    Burney    refers    in    his    '  History    of 

*  About  the  year  1042,  this  Prince  issued  rules  and  regula- 
tions respecting  the  bards  and  minstrels,  among  which  were  the 
following :  That  no  one  person  was  to  exercise  two  callings,  as 
poetry  and  playing  on  the  harp  or  crwth.  That  no  bard  or 
minstrel  was  to  possess  more  than  the  value  of  ten  shillings, 
either  in  horses  or  cattle,  or  expensive  apparel,  under  penalty  of 
forfeiting  it  to  the  King — for  rich  men  seldom  devote  themselves 
to  study  !  An  itinerent  minstrel  was  not  to  go  to  the  house  of  a 
gentleman,  nor  a  chief  minstrel  to  the  house  of  a  plebeian. 
It  was  the  office  of  the  itinerant  minstrel  to  rebuke,  to  mock, 
to  deride,  and  to  entreat,  by  means  of  reproach,  and  all  that 
under  the  pretence  of  singing ;  for  which  he  was  to  receive  a 
penny,  on  his  acknowledging  himself  to  belong  as  a  mere  weed 
to  the  bards  ;  and  a  gibe  from  the  company  was  to  be  given  to 
him,  that  he  might  make  light  of  the  devil,  who  enticed  him  to 
idleness,  riotous  living,  and  sloth  !  The  chief  minstrel  of  the 
country  was  to  have  the  marriage  fines  of  the  daughters  of 
minstrels ;  he  also  was  to  have  the  presents  of  young  women, 
when  they  married  ;  that  was  four-and-twenty  pence. 

When  the  King  was  desirous  to  hear  a  song,  the  chief  minstrel 
was  to  sing  two  songs,  the  first  in  the  hall,  addressed  to  God,  and 
the  other  respecting  the  King. 

When  the  Queen  wished  to  hear  a  song  in  her  apartment,  the 
domestic  bard  was  to  sing  three  songs  to  her,  with  a  moderate 
voice,  not  to  occasion  any  disturbance  in  the  hall.  The  chief 
minstrel  must  be  acquainted  with  all  the  laws  both  of  poetry  and 
music,  and  be  able  to  sing  both  in  harmony  and  concord,  also  in 
cross  consonancy  (query  counterpoint)  and  alliterations  ;  be  fond  of 
entertaining  subjects,  and  fertile  in  wit ;  also  to  be  able  to  retain 
long  in  his  memory  the  praise  of  the  nobles.  The  graduated 
probationary  pupil  must  know  ten  concords,  one  fundamental,  Jive 
concords  of  accompaniment,  and  eight  tunes.  The  disciplined 
pupil  must  know  double  the  above.  The  master  pupil  must  know 
three  times  as  many,  and  be  able  to  explain  them.     The  chief 


GRYFFYDD'S  BARDS'  RULES  179 

Music.'*  Dr.  Burney  examined  an  old  manuscript 
transcribed   in   the   time  of   Charles   I.,   which   was 

minstrel  must  know  four  times  as  many,  and  be  acquainted  with  all 
the  canons  and  their  rules  ;  also  the  system  of  canons  as  it  is  set  forth 
in  the  book  of  science.  He  must  be  able  to  compose  a  piece  for 
himself,  and  be  able  to  give  an  explanation  of  every  part  of  it : 
such  as  every  division  and  subdivision ;  every  quantity  and  rest, 
and  every  change  of  the  drawings,  and  key-notes,  hidden  and 
apparent ;  and  to  show  them  forth  warranted  from  his  own  per- 
formance, musically  and  masterly,  so  that  the  doctors  and  chief 
minstrels  may  conscientiously  adjudge  and  elect  him  to  be  an 
author  and  master  in  science. 

The  tunes  which  are  named  on  the  mixed  or  minor  key  are 
thirty-one  in  number ;  those  on  the  sharp  key,  A,  twenty-seven  ; 
those  on  the  flat  key,  F,  ten.  The  contending  concords,  named 
on  the  mixed  key,  B,  are  eleven ;  the  concords  in  the  fiat  key,  F, 
seven,  and  those  on  the  sharp  key,  A,  eighteen. 

That  no  pupil  compose  a  song  without  showing  it  to  his  master, 
to  know  from  his  judgment  that  it  be  correct,  before  it  be  sung 
aloud  to  anyone,  that  it  may  not  bring  shame  either  on  the  master 
or  the  pupil. 

Bards  and  minstrels  are  to  be  of  a  friendly  conversation, 
peaceable,  obliging,  humble,  and  fond  of  doing  good  offices  ;  and 
all  who  are  true  subjects  of  the  King  and  his  magistrates  should 
countenance  and  patronize  the  bards  and  minstrels. 

The  pupils  to  inquire  of  their  masters,  a  month  before  each 
festival,  where  they  are  to  go,  lest  too  many  go  to  the  same  place ; 
and  that  but  one  go  to  a  person  whose  income  does  not  exceed 
ten  pounds  (!),  and  two  to  him  who  has  twenty  pounds  ! 

Order  of  Bards  and  Minstrels. — There  are  eight  kinds  of  bards 
and  minstrels  :  four  graduated,  and  four  frivolous. 

The  first  four  are— i.  Bards  who  wear  the  band  of  their  order; 
2.  Harpers;  3.  Performers  on  the  crwth  ;  4.  Vocalists.  The 
four  kinds  of  frivolous  ones  are  — 1.  The  piper;  2.  The  juggler ; 

*  Vol.  ii.,  p.  1 10. 


180  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

reputed  to  be  a  transcript  of  '  the  music  of  the 
Britons,  as  settled  by  a  Congress,  or  meeting  of 
masters  of  music,  by  order  of  Gryffydd  ab  Cynan, 
Prince  of  Wales,  about  the  year  uoo,  with  some  of 
the  most  ancient  of  the  Britons,  supposed  to  have 
been  handed  down  to  us  from  the  British  bards.' 
The  document  is  in  letters  with  a  line  between  the 
treble  and  bass.  It  contains  pieces  for  the  harp  in 
full  counterpoint.  The  music  is  written  in  a  notation 
by  letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  is  so  curious  that  an 

3.  The  drummer ;  4.  The  fiddler,  or  player  on  the  crwth  with 
three  strings.  The  gratuity  of  each  of  these  is  one  penny,  and 
they  are  to  perform  standing.  The  singer  ought  to  know  how  to 
tune  a  harp,  or  crwth,  and  accurately  sing  several  musical  lessons 
through  their  regular  parts.  He  should  also  be  acquainted  with 
the  four-and  twenty  metres  of  poetry,  and  be  able  to  correct  any 
old  piece  of  poetry  which  he  may  receive  incorrect  from  another. 
He  should  likewise  know  how  to  serve  from  the  kitchen  to  the 
table  of  a  person  of  dignity  and  power,  and  to  carve  every  fowl 
that  comes  before  him.  And  his  office  at  a  royal  wedding  is  to 
serve  at  the  table  of  the  bride ;  a  white  covering  is  to  be  about 
the  harp  or  crwth  which  he  brings  with  him. 

The  Club-head  Vocalist  is  one  who  sings  without  being  able  to 
play  on  an  instrument.  He  is  to  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  hall} 
and  beat  time  with  his  club,  and  sing  a  poem  or  ode  with  the 
beats. 

Royal  Weddings. — A  notice  of  a  year  and  a  day  is  given  to  the 
bards  to  prepare  themselves  to  attend  royal  weddings ;  and  the 
chief  minstrel  is  appointed  the  butt  of  the  rest,  and  he  gives  them 
an  entertaining  subject  to  exercise  their  poetical  talents  upon. 
After  dinner  the  chief  minstrel  sits  in  a  chair,  and  those  who  put 
questions  to  him  stand.  They  are  permitted  to  say  against  him, 
in  poetry,  anything  they  choose,  and  on  the  morrow  he  answers 
them  on  the  subject  for  the  amusement  of  the  company. 


1 100  A.D.:    CONGRESS  MUSIC 


181 


example  may  well  be  reproduced,  together  with  the 
learned  historian's  reproductions  in  modern  notation. 


MOST  ANCIENT  SPECIMENS  OF  WELSH  MUSICAL 
NOTATION  EXTANT 


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1 82 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


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Dr.  Burney  considers  that  the  harmonies  were 
added  by  the  transcriber^  but  such  a  supposition 
seems  improbable,  since  it  would  defeat  the  purpose 
of  transcribing  the  manuscript — viz.,  to  show  the 
state  of  music  at  the  time  of  the  conference.  Had 
the  transcriber  modernized  the  music,  he  would  in 
all  probability  have  modernized  the  notation.  The 
honesty  of  the  transcriber  is  not  doubted,  so  that  the 
music  of  this  MS.  may  be  safely  regarded  as  the 

*  The  patriotic  Owen  Jones  Myvyr  first  published  these  speci- 
mens in  the  'Archaeology  of  Wales,'  a  valuable  work  in  three 
volumes,  printed  at  an  expense  of  ,£2,000. 

f  Robert  ap  Haw  of  Bodwigen,  in  the  Isle  of  Anglesea,  from 
William  Penllyn's  book.  William  Penllyn  was  among  the  suc- 
cessful candidates  on  the  harp  at  the  Eisteddfod,  or  session  of 
the  bards  and  minstrels  appointed  in  the  ninth  year  of  Queen 
Elizabeth's  reign  at  Caerwys,  in  North  Wales,  where  he  was 
elected  one  of  the  chief  bards  or  teachers  of  instrumental 
music 


MUSIC  UNDER  RUFUS  183 

genuine  Welsh  music  which  the  existing  bards  had 

in  the  tenth  century,  counterpoint  and  all.* 

Unhappily,    William    of    Malmesbury,    when    he 

comes  to  the  reign  of  William  Rufus  (1087-1 100), 

chronicles  a  different  story  to  that  of  William  the 

Conqueror's  care  for  the  churches.  Ac- 
Church  n  •  ,  1  •  1 
Musical     cording   to   the   chronicler,    the   rites  and 

honours  of  the  Church  were  brought  to  a 
low  ebb,  too  humiliating  and  disgraceful  to  con- 
template, and  though  several  important  churches 
were  built  or  restored  in  this  reign,  such  was  owing 
more  to  the  piety  and  liberality  of  their  wealthy 
founders  than  to  any  encouragement  accorded  by 
the  King.  Most  of  these  benefactors  were  powerful 
Norman  Churchmen  who  followed  upon  the  Con- 
quest, imbued  with  a  deep  love  for  church-building, 
and  bent  upon  making  the  Church  a  power  not  less 
formidable  than  the  State.  Several  of  the  names 
identified  with  these  reconstructions  show  how  the 
Norman  ecclesiastics  were  gradually  strengthening 
their  position. 

*  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  any  doubts  have  grown  around  this 
Welsh  MS.,  which,  when  Dr.  Burney  wrote,  was  in  the  possession 
of  Richard  Morris,  Esq.,  of  the  Tower.  Early  musical  MSS.  are 
all  too  scanty,  and  have  suffered  deplorably  in  this  country.  Of 
course  they  were  particularly  liable  to  destruction,  because,  as 
notation  improved,  the  older  MSS.  would  become  illegible,  and 
therefore  useless  to  the  generality  of  musicians.  The  blind  zeal 
of  conquerors  and  bodies  like  the  Puritans  led  to  the  destruction 
of  any  parchment  or  paper  partaking  of  a  musical  character. 


1 84  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


About  this  time  lived  Henry  of  Huntingdon  {circa 
1083-1155),  to  whose  industry  we  are  indebted  for 
much  relating  to  social  life,  and  especially  to  music 
in  England.  He  was  Archdeacon  of  Huntingdon, 
and  his  chief  work,  the  '  Historia  Anglorum,'  which 
extends  to  the  reign  of  King  Stephen,  is  especially 
valuable,  inasmuch  as  it  incorporates  the  narratives 
of  popular  songs  and  stories  the  originals  of  which 
have  been  lost.  He  is  not  always  an  exact  chronicler, 
but  as  he  went  to  the  old  songs  of  the  people  for 
many  of  his  facts,  he  will  always  be  entitled  to  respect 
on  that  account. 

Contemporary  with  this  chronicler  was  Ordericus 
Vitalis,  born  in  1075  A-D->  wno  is  associated  with 
musical  doings  at  this  time.  He  was  sent  to  a 
Ordericus  school  at  Shrewsbury,  and,  among  other 
Vitalis.  matters,  was  taught  chanting-  under  a 
priest  of  royal  blood,  named  Siward.  Later  on  he 
went  to  St.  Evroult,  an  abbey  buried  in  the  forests 
of  Normandy,  from  which  religious  house  he,  forty 
years  afterwards,  wrote  :  '  I  have  cheerfully  borne 
the  light  yoke  of  the  Lord  for  forty-two  years,  and 
walking  in  the  ways  of  God  with  my  fellow  monks 
.  .  .  have  endeavoured  to  perfect  myself  in  the 
devices  of  the  Church  and  ecclesiastical  duties.' 

Winchester  Cathedral,  which  has  always  been 
associated  with  the  social  life  of  this  country,  and 
therefore  with  its  religious  and  musical  growth,  was 
the  point  for  which  the  Conqueror's  youngest  son, 


A   LUCKLESS  MINSTREL 


185 


Henry   I.  (1100-1135  A.D.),  made  when  he  left  his 

brother  William's  dead  bodv  where  it  fell  through 

Tyrrel's  shaft  in  the  New  Forest.      He  seized  the 

ecclesiastical  treasure  wherewith  to   ease 
Henry  I.       ,  ,  . 

the    way     to     a     speedy    coronation    in 

London,  where,  by  gifts  and  bribes,  he  was  crowned 
King,  while  Robert  was  away  in  the  Holy  Land 
with  Peter  the  Hermit's  Crusade.  The  coronation 
took  place  at  Westmin- 
ster Abbey  to  the  chant- 
ing of  the  Gregorian 
Mass  and  Canticle  music 
by  the  Norman  monks 
and  singing-men.  The 
exiled  Anselm,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury, 
whom  King  Rufus  had 
banished,  was  recalled  ; 
and  that  same  energy 
for  church  -  building 
which  had  distinguished  his  father  and  brother 
marked  also  the  character  and  reign  of  Henry, 
who  no  doubt  saw,  as  they  had  done,  the  wisdom 
of  strengthening  the  Norman  ecclesiastical  reach 
and  influence. 

We  hear  little  relating  to  music  in  general  in  this 
reififn  ;  but  one  incident  that  stands  recorded  re- 
dounds  but  little  to  the  credit  or  magnanimity  of  the 
Monarch.     A  luckless   Norman   minstrel,   Luke  de 


HENRY    I. 


186  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Barre  by  name,  fell  into  his  power,  and  Henry  deter- 
mined to  make  him  suffer.  '  He  has  never  done  me 
homage,'  said  the  King,  'but  he  has  fought  against 
me,  and  has  besides  composed  facetious  and  indecent 
songs  upon  me,  and  sung  them  publicly,  thus  often 
raising  the  loud  laughs  of  my  worst  enemies.'  So 
saying,  the  King  ordered  the  minstrel's  eyes  to  be 
pulled  out ;  but  the  terrified  musician  escaped  from 
his  tormentors,  and,  rushing  thereto,  dashed  his 
brains  out  against  the  wall. 

Matilda,  Queen  of  Henry  I.,  was,  according  to 
William  of  Malmesbury,  so  fond  of  music  that  she 
expended  all  her  revenues  upon  it,  and  oppressed 
her  tenants  to  pay  her  minstrels. 

The  name  of  one  important  musician  that  reaches 

us  is  that  of  Rahere.      He  was  the  King's  jongleur, 

and  founded  the  priory  of  St.  Bartholomew,  Smith- 

_  .  field,  which  church,  as  recently  restored, 

Rahere,  _  3  ' 

Jongleur  to  shows  something  of  its  original  beauty. 
Henry  I.  .  ... 

From  this  foundation  it  is  clear  that  a 

royal  jester,  minstrel,  or  jongleur — whatever  we  may 

term   him — was   no  mean   or  ill-paid    personage   in 

Henry  I.'s  day,  for  there  are  probably  few  among 

favoured  musicians  of  to-day  whose  earnings  would 

enable  them  to  build  and  endow  such  a  foundation 

as  is  the  St.  Bartholomew's  charity.*     As  Henry  I. 

*  In  the  history  of  Thomas  of  Reading,  Rahere  is  said  to  have 
retained  '  a  company  of  minstrels,  i.e.,  fiddlers,  who  played  with 
silver  horns.'     These  would  also  be  the  King's  servants,  under  the 


JOHN  OF  SALISBURY  187 


had  Rahere  attached  as  jongleur  to  his  Court,  we 
may  assume  that  musicians  filled  similar  positions  in 
the  households  of  all  great  personages  of  the  time, 
so  that  social  music  was  by  no  means  discoun- 
tenanced this  while  by  the  nobility  in  England. 
We  may  be  sure,  too,  that  the  old  love  for  domestic 
music  remained  as  strong  as  ever  amonsj  the  lower 
orders,  and  that  around  the  hearths  of  many  a 
remote  Saxon  and  British  homestead — far  removed 
from  the  new  fashions  of  the  Normans — the  family 
circle  consoled  itself  with  the  musical  delights,  vocal 
and  instrumental,  which  its  members  had  intuitively 
acquired,  and  which  their  forefathers  had  practised 
long  before  them. 

John,  surnamed  'of  Salisbury,'  to  distinguish  him 
from  other  Johns,  belongs  to  this  reign.  The  name 
is  so  closely  identified  with  early  English  music  that 
John  of  **  deserves  notice.  Born  about  the  year 
Salisbury.  x  j  IO)  John  went  as  a  youth  to  Paris. 
He  attended  Abelard's  lectures  at  the  Mont  St. 
Genevieve,  and  became  a  scholar  in  the  Montier  la 
Celle  Abbey,  in  the  diocese  of  Troyes. 

As  secretary  of  Theobald,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, he  came  to  know  Becket,  the  Chancellor  of 
England,  of  whose  will  he  was  an  executor.  In 
1 1 76   he  was   Bishop  of  Chartres,  a  high  post  for 

direction  of  Rahere,  and  constituting  a  band  of  musicians  who 
would  be  required  chiefly  on  the  great  occasions,  and  other  than 
those  when  Rahere  performed  privately  for  the  King's  amusement. 


1 88  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

one  to  have  risen  to  who,  in  Henry  I.'s  time,  was, 
as  an  old  chronicle  puts  it,  '  being  handed  over  to  a 
clergyman's  charge  to  learn  his  Psalms.' 

From  John  of  Salisbury  we  learn  that  the  great 
ones  of  his  time  imitated  Nero  in  his  extravagance 
towards  musicians.  He  avers  that  they  'prostituted 
their  favour  by  bestowing  it  on  minstrels  and 
buffoons.'     John  died  October  25,  1180. 

The  following  passage  which  the  same  John 
penned  about  the  year  11 70  affords  some  idea  of 
the  pleasure  the  people  of  the  time  took  in  part- 
sincrincr  : 

o       o 

'  The  rites  of  religion  are  now  profaned  by  music  ; 
and  it  seems  as  if  no  other  use  were  made  of  it 
than  to  corrupt  the  mind  by  wanton  modulations, 
effeminate  inflexions,  and  frittered  notes  and  periods, 
even  in  the  Penetralia,  or  sanctuary,  itself.  The 
senseless  crowd,  delighted  with  all  these  vagaries, 
imagine  they  hear  a  concert  of  Sirens,  in  which  the 
performers  strive  to  imitate  the  notes  of  nightingales 
and  parrots,  not  those  of  men  ;  sometimes  descend- 
ing to  the  bottom  of  the  scale,  sometimes  mounting 
to  the  summit ;  now  softening,  and  now  enforcing 
the  tones,  repeating  passages,  mixing  in  such  a 
manner  the  grave  sounds  with  the  more  grave,  and 
the  acute  with  the  most  acute,  that  the  astonished 
and  bewildered  ear  is  unable  to  distinguish  one 
voice  from  another.' 

John    was    clearly   one    of  the    old    conservative 


MUSIC  UXDER  STEPHEX 


189 


school  in  music — apt  to  grow  excited  and  to  speak 
vehemently    respecting    the    new-fangled    musical 
notions  which  he  saw,  slowly  but  surely,  creeping  in. 
During  the  terrible  civil  wars  between  the  kind, 
engaging,   but  ambitious  Stephen   (1135-1154  a.d.) 
and    Henry's    daughter,    the    Empress    Maude,    the 
country  was  little 
disposed  for  prac- 
tising music.    The 
hauberk    or    coat 
of  mail,  lance,  with 
sling    and    bow, 
claimed   more  at- 
tention   than    the 
harp    and    viol, 
which  were  placed 
aside     awhile, 
when,      according 
to  an  old  record, 
'all  England  wore 
a  face  of  desola- 
tion   and    misery. 
Multitudes    abandoned   their   beloved   country,   and 
went   into   voluntary   exile ;   others,    forsaking   their 
own    houses,   built   wretched    huts    in    churchyards, 
hoping  for  protection   from   the  sacredness  of  the 
place.     Whole  families,  after  sustaining  life  as  long 
as  they  could  by  eating  herbs,  roots,  and  the  flesh 
of  dogs  and  horses,  at  last  died  of  hunger  ;  and  you 


NORMAN   ARMOUR. 


190 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


might  see  many  pleasant  villages  without  a  single 
inhabitant.'* 

The  reign  of  Stephen  witnessed  an  extraordinary- 
extension  of  the  monastic  system,  which  meant  a  corre- 
sponding growth  of  ecclesiastical  music,  and  possibly 
of  domestic  music,  if  the  monks  elected  to  enjoy  its 

practice.  The  exercise 
of  the  art,  whether  in  its 
sacred  or  secular  form, 
afforded  little  ground  of 
offence  to  noble  or  serf, 
and  it  is  extremely  im- 
probable that  the  art  fell 
away  even  during  a  period 
when  anarchy  reigned  un- 
bridled in  Britain.  Cer- 
tainly Church  music  did 
not  decline.  Happily  the 
clergy  and  churchmen  were  diligent.  With  sword 
in  hand  they  laid  the  stone  and  guided  the  trowel, 
so  that  even  amid  the  deplorable  struggles  which 
marked  Stephen's  reign,  when  the  work  of  devasta- 
tion must  have  extended  to,  and  effaced  the  beauty 
of,  many  a  church,  new  ones  sprang  up  with  all 
that  frequency  and  extent  of  beautiful  architectural 
dimension  and  detail  which  has  made  this  period  a 
glorious  one  in  the  history  of  constructive  building 
art  and  ornament. 


STEPHEN. 


*     i 


Gesta  Regni  Stephani' 


NORMAN  MUSIC  MATERIAL  191 

The    stern    and    stirring    Norman    period    is    not 

without  interest  and  value  as  a  phase  in  our  national 

musical  history.      It  is  true  that  it  has  furnished  us 

with  little  actual  musical  material  in  the 
Norman  .  . 

Music      shape  of  manuscripts  of  either  sacred  or 

Material.  ,  a       r  j  j 

secular   art.      As    tar   as    regards    sacred 

music  this  can  be  explained  :  this,  unlike  secular 
music,  was  liberally  transcribed  and  duplicated,  but 
it  is  only  the  fewest  who,  in  the  matter  of  books, 
think  of  any  age  other  than  that  in  which  they  live. 
If  book  and  manuscript  serve  the  purpose  of  their 
own  generation,  the  majority  of  mankind  are  con- 
tent not  to  trouble  about  the  wants  of  another. 
Further,  one  has  only  to  have  some  acquaintance 
with  the  wear  and  tear,  avoidable  and  unavoid- 
able, to  which  choir- books  in  daily  use  are  sub- 
jected by  choristers,  to  understand  the  discrepancy 
that  would  follow  between  the  wearing-out  and  the 
duplicating  processes,  especially  at  a  period  when 
copying  had  to  be  done  by  the  slow  art  of  pen- 
manship. 

Still,  this  Norman  epoch  has  given  us  the 
minstrel  element — of  which  more  anon — which, 
although  it  existed  in  England  long  before,  and  long 
after,  the  Norman  Conquest,  is  particularly  identified 
with  this  time,  when  a  great  stimulus  was  given  to 
secular  music,  and  especially  to  that  form  of  it 
known  as  the  art  of  the  improvisatorc,  a  spontaneous 
music  and  song  which  the  genius  and  grace  of  the 


192  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

minstrel  could  call  up  as  if  by  magic,  just  as  occasion 
required. 

Then  we  must  not  forget  such  unmistakable  and 
material  help  to  the  cause  of  music  as  was  supplied 
in  the  prolific  erection  of  churches  wherever  the 
quick  eye  of  the  Norman  churchman  discovered 
a  choice  site  ;  the  situations  of  many  of  our  oldest 
churches  well  attest  the  shrewd  judgment  and  dis- 
cretion which  these  ecclesiastics  displayed  in  this 
matter.  The  more  churches  there  were  the  more 
sacred  music  there  was  bound  to  be.  In  Fitz- 
Stephen's  contemporary  description,  written  a  few 
years  later  (about  1174  a.d.),  there  were  as  many  as 
one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  churches  in  London. 
Throughout  the  country  they  were  relatively 
numerous,  so  that  here  alone  would  be  a  great 
outlet  for  musical  exercise,  since  King  and  Queen, 
chivalrous  noble  and  pious  lady,  Bishop,  Abbot, 
priest,  and  commoner — all  flocked  to  the  church  for 
Matins,  Mass,  and  Evensong. 

Perhaps  there  was  little  else  than  the  Gregorian 
music  to  the  Mass,  and  the  chants  to  the  Canticles, 
Litanies,  and  Misereres,  to  be  heard,  but  the  music 
and  the  services  would  be  on  a  scale  corresponding 
with  the  extent  of  the  abbeys  and  churches,  and  as 
many  of  these  were  of  great  splendour  we  may  con- 
clude that  the  heritage — as  regards  its  spirit  if  not  its 
letter — which  the  Roman  Church  bequeathed  at  a 
later  period  to  the  Protestant  Church  was  one  that 


HEART  MUSIC  193 


was  truly  worthy  of  the  high  purpose  which  it  fulfilled 
as  an  accompaniment  and  adornment  to  the  office  of 
Divine  service. 

This  Church  music  undoubtedly  existed,  and  was 
used  and  practised  daily  in  the  principal  towns  and 
centres  ;  while  secular  art  was  kept  alive  by  the 
minstrel  or  bard,  who,  either  comfortably  housed  in 
his  patron's  hall  or  castle,  or  moving  from  place  to 
place  in  the  country,  was  as  jealous  of  his  art  as 
were  the  ecclesiastics  of  theirs. 

This  same  Fitz-Stephen,  in  his  graphic  account  of 
London  during  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  describes  the 
town  amusements  at  the  several  seasons  of  the  year. 
He  particularly  mentions  the  water  and  riverside 
revels  at  Easter,  where  '  the  maidens  as  soon  as  the 
moon  rises  dance  to  the  guitar  and  with  their  nimble 
movements  shake  the  ground.' 

Nor  was  this  all.  What  of  the  people's  music  and 
all  that  uncontrolled  harmony  and  melody  which 
was  as  prevalent  among  the  various  classes  then  as 
it  is  now  ?  We  are  wont  to  keep  little  reckoning  of 
all  this  natural  music  which  comes  and  goes  in  the 
case  of  each  one  of  us  with  a  lifetime.  But  it  exists 
around  us,  though  all  unnoticed  and  neglected  by  the 
historian.  In  these  early  Norman  times  men  and 
women,  maidens  and  youths,  possessed  their  wide 
and  varying  sentiments  just  as  they  do  now.  Of 
course  they  broke  into  song.  The  lover  with  his 
plaint,  the  nursery  lullaby,  the  maid  at  her  wheel, 
the  peasant's  drone  as  he  tilled  the  soil,  the  milk- 

*3 


194  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

maid's  song — all  these  were  then  as  now.  And  was 
every  knight  and  lady  dumb  ?  Did  the  guard  as  he 
strode  the  lonely  battlement  never  hum  a  tune  to 
lighten  the  weight  of  his  coat  of  mail  or  hauberk  ; 
or  when  these  were  removed  for  a  season,  would  he 
not  have  broken  out  into  some  song  —  rude  or 
polished — that  had  grown  up  with  him  from  his 
childhood  ?  Surely  there  was  all  this  untutored  art 
in  its  many  thousand  shades  of  emotion  and  expres- 
sion. There  was  the  sarne  human  heart  then  as 
now,  and  that  fount  of  all  that  is  joyous  and  all  that 
is  sad  will,  in  every  season,  overflow  and  pour  forth 
its  message  in  many  a  strange  mood  and  key  through 
that  chaste  and  adequate  medium  which  music  alone 
supplies. 

Principal  Authorities. 

'  Life  of  Alfred  the  Great '     -  Spelman. 

'Chronicles'  -----  Ingulph. 

'  History  of  Ely  '   -         -         -         -         -  Bentham. 

'  English  Songs '     -----  Warton. 

'  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time  '      -  Chappell. 
Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle. 

1  History  of  Music '  Burney. 

'  Norman  Conquest '      -         -        -         -  Freeman. 

'  Dissertation  on  Romance  and  Minstrelsy '  Ritson. 

'  Short  History  of  the  English  People  '    -  Green. 

'  Roman  de  Ron     -         -         -         -         -  Wace. 

'Specimens  of  Various  Styles  of  Music  '  Crotch. 

'  Chronicle '  -         -         -         -         -         -  Holinshed. 

'  Historia  Anglorum  '  Henry  of  Huntingdon. 

'  Gesta  Regni  Stephani? 

1  Social  England '  -         -        -        -         -  Cassell. 

'  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians  '     -  Grove. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MINSTRELSY  FROM  NORMAN  TO  LANCASTRIAN 

TIMES. 

Minstrelsy — The  '  Waits  ' — Origin  of  '  Minstrel ' — The  Norman 
Settlement  and  Minstrelsy — Condition  of  Saxon  Art  at  the 
Conquest — Ritson  on  Minstrels — Le  Grand  on  Minstrels — 
Origin  of  the  Norman  Minstrel — Taillefer  at  Senlac — The 
Song  of  Roland — Dr.  Burney's  Version — Dr.  Crotch's  Version 
— Effect  of  Minstrelsy — Annuity  to  Galfridus — Richard  I. 
favours  the  Minstrels — Blondel,  his  favourite  Minstrel — 
The  Crusades — -King  Richard  imprisoned  in  Germany — 
Traced  by  Blondel  singing  the  King's  Romanza — Gaucelm's 
Song  on  the  Death  of  Richard  I. — Privileges  granted  to  the 
Minstrels  by  Charter — Chester  Midsummer  Fair  Grant — 
Social  Employments  for  Minstrels— At  a  Wedding  Ceremony 
— Certain  Head  or  '  King '  Minstrels — Recognition  by 
Henry  III. — Edward  I.  saved  by  his  Minstrel  in  the  Holy 
Land — Reputed  Massacre  of  Welsh  Bards — Grand  Minstrel 
Performances — Notable  Minstrels  and  their  Pseudonyms — 
Fees  and  Remunerations  to  the  Minstrels — Some  Liberal 
Patrons — Edward  II.'s  Encouragement  of  Minstrelsy — Real 
Estate  Grants — Dress  of  the  Minstrels — Their  Stone  Carvings 
— The  Minstrels'  Pillars  in  Beverley  Minster  and  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Beverley — John  of  Gaunt's  Grant  to  the  Minstrels  of 
Tutbury — The  Abuse  of  the  Craft — The  First  Serious  Check 
to  Minstrelsy — The  Downfall  of  the  Minstrels — A  Mummery 
Procession  from  Newgate  to  Lambeth — Lingering  Signs  and 
Effects  of  Minstrelsy. 

Minstrel!     The  word   is  fuller  with    music   than 
many  a  more  pronounced  term  in  modern  tone  art 


196  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

phraseology.  Its  mere  mention  thrills  the  imagina- 
tive mind  into  a  realm  of  fancy  concerning  a  singularly 
beautiful  and  romantic  phase  of  early  English  musical 
iyjjn_  life.  How  the  school-boy  and  girl  loves 
strelsy.  to  ljnger  over  the  brief  references  to 
the  minstrel  and  his  art  in  the  primer  or  history- 
book  !  How,  as  we  grow  older,  the  minstrel  has 
still  a  charm  for  us  ;  and  whenever  the  word  '  min- 
strelsy '  meets  our  eyes,  all  our  musical  nerves  and 
instincts  seem  to  vibrate  within  us  !  The  music  of 
the  '  waits,'  rough  and  coarse  as  it  too  often  is — a 
musical  feature  which  still  clings  to  the  Yule  season 
— never  fails  to  arrest  the  attention  of  old  and  young 
as  a  remnant,  it  is  thought,  of  ancient  English  music 
and  custom.  Unfortunately  the  terms  'minstrel' 
and  '  minstrelsy '  have  been  indiscriminately  used 
for  every  sort  of  musician  and  performance,  of  what- 
ever age.  We  have  to  consider  the  minstrels  here 
as  a  great  body  of  itinerant  performers  who  flourished 
between  the  Conquest  and  three  centuries  later. 

Popularly  the  '  waits '  of  to-day  are  regarded  as 
minstrels  of  the  kind  wrhich  obtained  long  before 
music  became  that  great  art  which  early  musicians 
like  the  Elizabethan  composers  made  it  ;  and  many 
people  there  are  who  see  more  music  in  the  snatches 
of  tune  which  startle  the  crisp  night  air,  beneath  our 
window-casements,  at  Christmas  time,  than  they 
perceive  in  the  performance  of  a  modern  symphony. 
We  need  not  disagree.      It  would  be  harsh  to  dispel 


MUSIC  OF  THE  '  WAITS'  197 

an  illusion  which  springs  out  of  the  fulness  of  a  good 
heart — as  all  hearts  are  at  the  Christmas  season.  It 
is  the  odour  of  the  old  minstrelsy  which  flavours  the 
modern  imitation,  and  for  that  reason  we  are  con- 
tent to  overlook  not  a  little  that  is  musically  bad  in 
these  midnight  musicians.  The  modern  '  waits ' 
and  carol-singers  are  a  survival — slight,  perhaps — of 
old  time  methods  which  no  one  wishes  to  see  die 
out,  although  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  '  artists  ' 
at  these  nocturnal  musical  performances  do  not  treat 
us  to  something  of  a  hio-her  order  than  is  their  wont. 
The  extravagant  raspings  of  flute  and  viol,  and  crude 
vocal  harmony  —  generally  extemporizations  —  are 
only  to  be  regarded  charitably,  and  no  one,  we  hope, 
would  seriously  think  or  judge  of  musical  England 
by  such  searchings  and  gropings. 

The  minstrel — a  name  we  do  not  get  until  after 
the  coming  of  the  Normans,  though  in  person  he  was 
here  with  the  Saxons — was  distinguished  for  his 
skill  in  instrumental  music  only,  and  it  was  left  to 
him  to  borrow  his  story  from  any  source — provided 
it  pleased  his  patrons.  Many  of  these  English 
musicians  could  and  did  compose  songs  themselves, 
but  as  in  the  lapse  of  years  the  art  declined,  the 
later  singers  fell  back  upon  the  compositions  of 
others.  It  was  ever  rare,  however,  to  find  a 
minstrel  who  could  not  invent  a  few  stanzas  as 
occasion  and  opportunity  required.  We  must  not 
hurriedly  pass  them  by,  for  they  were  a  great  feature 


198  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

in  early  English  social  life.  To  them,  too,  we  owe 
most  of  the  old  heroic  ballads  which  we  cherish. 
'  The  minstrels,'  says  Percy,  'were  the  successors  of 
the  ancient  bards  who  under  different  names  were 
admired  and  revered  from  the  earliest  ages,  among 
the  people  of  Gaul,  Britain,  Ireland,  and  the  North, 
and,  indeed,  by  almost  all  the  first  inhabitants  of 
Europe,  whether  of  Celtic  or  Gothic  race  ;  but  by 
none  more  than  by  our  own  Teutonic  ancestors, 
particularly  by  all  the  Danish  tribes.'* 

The  term  '  minstrel,'  from  the  Norman  French 
ministraulx,  came  into  use  in  England  with  the 
Conquest  with  that  great  influx  of  the  minstrel 
Norman  element  that  followed  in  the  van  of  the 
Minstrelsy.  army  which  WiHiam>  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy, brought  with  him  (1066  a.d.).  It  is  from  the 
Norman  settlement  that  the  history  of  the  minstrel, 
who,  as  we  shall  see,  long  survived  in  this  country, 
conveniently  dates.  No  doubt  the  Briton  and  the 
Saxon  possessed  a  musician  who,  under  another 
name,  performed  precisely  similar  offices  for  the 
State  and  the  people  as  did  the  Norman  minstrel ; 
both  countries'  musicians  were  equally  fortunate, 
too,  in  the  favour  and  esteem  in  which  they  were 
regarded  by  the  people  at  large,  and  the  patron- 
nobles  in  particular. 

There  was  little,  if  any,  artistic  superiority  in  one 
over   the    other ;    and,  save    in    the    matter   of  the 
*  '  Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry  '  (Percy). 


MUSIC  AT  THE  CONQUEST  199 


tongue  they  spoke,  one  national  musician  was  very 
like  another.  Throughout  North-West  Europe  there 
was,  and  had  long  been,  this  musical  necessity — a 
performer  who,  whether  under  the  name  of  bard, 
scop,  scald,  or  minstrel,  played  much  the  same  role, 
and  was  similarly  regarded  in  whichever  country 
he  trod  and  travelled.  Thus  he  was  a  '  minstrel ' 
wherever  he  lived,  and  wherever  he  went,  and 
writers  have  not  troubled  to  make  any  more  careful 
distinction  when  referring  to  either  the  British  bard 
and  harper,  or  to  the  later  harper-scald  of  the  Saxon. 
The  Normans  did  not  introduce  poetry  and  song 
into  England,  as  is  generally  supposed,  but  the 
visitors  from  Northern  France  gave  a  great  impetus 
to  impromptu  music  here.  The  art  was  already  in 
a  sturdy  state  when  the  descendant  of  Rollo  the 
Ranger  stepped  on  English  soil  to  win  immortal 
fame  as  the  '  Conqueror.'  That  independent  style 
of  melody  which  we  have  seen  was  inherent  in  and 
peculiar  to  the  ancient  Britons  still  lived,  as  do  traces 
of  it  even  to  this  day.  Nor  was  Anglo-Saxon  music 
withering.  All  England  was  still  alive  with  the 
doings  of  King  Alfred,  who  had  explored  the 
Danish  camp.  The  old  Saxon  gleemen  plied  their 
trade  for  centuries  after  the  Conquest,  for  the 
Norman  music  for  many  years  affected  not  so  much 
the  lower  orders — who  could  not  understand  it — as 
the  nobility.  Thus  it  was  for  awhile  an  art  for  the 
knight  and  patrician — not  for  the  plebeian — so  that 


20o  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


the  common  music  at  the  rural  entertainments,  fairs, 
and  such  like,  long  remained  English  and  not 
Norman.  The  'fun  of  the  fair,'  with  the  jigs  and 
the  dance  tunes,  were  English  features  for  many 
centuries  after  the  arrival  of  the  Conqueror.  When 
we  meet  with  the  Normans,  however,  we  not  only 
become  possessed  of  the  name  'minstrel,'  that  has 
been  inaptly  applied  to  the  travelling  musician  of  a 
much  earlier  period,  but  we  are  introduced  to  much 
of  the  habit  and  custom  of  the  minstrel  as  he  existed 
in  a  flourishing  land  just  outside  our  own. 

With  this  fresh  performer  a  new  and  different 
character  of  music  was  introduced  into  England, 
which  mixed  well  with  the  native  and  Saxon  art. 
Like  many  other  of  the  Norman  influences  this  new 
musical  element  was  destined  to  have  a  considerable 
and  permanent  effect  upon  English  musical  art. 
One  result  of  it  was  the  increased  favour  accorded 
to  secular  music  and  the  minstrel's  art  in  particular. 
So  much  was  this  the  case  that  minstrels  became 
a  distinct  order  of  men  for  many  years  after  the 
Norman  Conquest,  men  who  gained  their  livelihood 
principally  by  singing  verses  to  the  harp  at  the 
houses  of  the  great.  Further,  the  Norman  minstrel 
brought  the  romantic  spirit  largely  into  play,  and 
weaved  it  inextricably  into  our  national  lyrical  art. 
This  was  a  great  gain. 

'The  menestrier,  menestrel,  or  minstrel,'  says 
Ritson  in  his  '  Dissertation  on  Romance  and  Min- 


THE  NORM  AS  MINSTREL  201 


strelsy,'  was  'he  who  accompanied  his  song  by  a 
musical  instrument,  both  the  words  and  the  melody 
being  occasionally  furnished  by  himself,  and  occa- 
sionally by  others.'  The  same  author  is  of  opinion 
that  there  were  different  orders  of  minstrels.  He 
writes  :  '  That  the  different  professors  of  minstrelsy 
were,  in  ancient  times,  distinguished  by  names 
appropriated  to  their  respective  pursuits,  cannot 
reasonably  be  disputed,  though  it  may  be  difficult  to 
prove.  The  trotiveur,  trouverre,  or  rymour,  was  he 
who  composed  romans,  contes,  fabliaux,  chansons  and 
lais ;  and  those  who  confined  themselves  to  the 
composition  of  contes  and  fabliaux,  obtained  the 
appellation  of  contours,  conteours,  ox  fab  Hers.' 

The  minstrels,  firmly  established  in  England  by 
the  Norman  Conquest,  flourished  as  long  after  as  the 
sixteenth  century.  They  became  a  real  factor  in 
the  national  musical  character,  and  it  will  be  evident 
that  no  such  body  of  men  could  exercise  their  pro- 
fession in  the  palace  of  the  king,  the  hall  of  the 
noble,  and  in  the  outdoor  world,  without  deeply  im- 
pressing all  who  heard  the  song  and  music.  What 
was  sung  and  played  would  cling  with  remarkable 
tenacity  to  and  operate  upon  the  minds  and  actions  of 
all  who  heard  it.  At  the  outset  we  ought  to  possess 
an  adequate  idea  of  the  minstrel  and  the  many-sided 
nature  of  his  calling.  This  has  been  well  set  out  by 
Le  Grand.  '  This  profession,'  he  says,  '  required  a 
multiplicity  of  attainments,  and  of  talents,  which  one 


202  .THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

would  at  this  day  have  some  difficulty  to  find  re- 
united, and  we  have  more  reason  to  be  astonished  at 
them  in  these  days  of  ignorance  :  for  besides  all  the 
songs  old  and  new,  besides  the  current  anecdotes, 
the  tales  and  fabliaux,  which  they  piqued  themselves 
on  knowing,  besides  the  romances  of  the  time  which 
it  behoved  them  to  know  and  to  possess  in  part, 
they  could  declaim,  sing,  compose  music,  play  on 
several  instruments,  and  accompany  them.  Fre- 
quently even  were  they  authors,  and  made  them- 
selves the  pieces  they  uttered.' 

He  sang  the  lighter  and  shorter  chansons,  and 
that  he  was  a  skilled  musician  is  clear  from  the 
following  extract  from  an  Anglo-French  poem  : 

'  Ge  sai  juglere  de  vide* 
Si  sai  de  musef  et  de  frestelej 
Et  de  la  harpe  et  de  chifonie§ 
De  la  giguej|  de  larmonieU 
Et  el  saltiere**  et  en  la  rote.'tf 

The  minstrel  was  with  the  English  and  Normans 
the  successor  of  a  previous  musician.  William's 
ancestor  Rollo  hailed  from  Norway  and  Denmark, 
where  Norwegians  held  the  scalds  in  high  esteem. 
Many  of  these  went  into  the  Norman  duchy  to 
become  Normans,  and  to  change  their  musical  title 
to  that  of  minstrel — the  name  which  they  brought  to 
England,  and  which  has  ever  since  remained  here. 

*  Viol.  t  Bagpipes.  X  Flageolet,  or  Flute. 

§  Hurdy-gurdy.  ||  Fiddle.  51  Tambourine. 

**  Dulcimer  played  with  the  fingers.  tt  Zither. 


TA ILLEFER  203 


From  the  Domesday  Book  we  learn  of  the  bounty 
of  William  I.  towards  his  private  joculator  or  bard 
in  Gloucestershire — '  Bardic  Joculator  Regis  '  ;  while 
a  still  more  famous  minstrel's  fame  and  reputation 
have  made  him  quite  a  national  figure. 

The  name  of  one  warrior-musician  more  eminent, 
more  daring  than  the  rest  that  followed  William  has 
come  down  through  history.     This  was  the  herald- 
minstrel   Taillefer.      His    intrepidity    and 
Taillefer.  ,  ...... 

courage  as  a  soldier  matched  his  skill  in 

music,  and  beseeching  his  ducal  patron  to  be  allowed 
to  do  so,  he  led  the  onslaught  on  King  Harold  and 
the  English  upon  that  memorable  day  when  the  sun 
went  down  at  Senlac,  and  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
Saxon  King  and  his  hus-carls  were  mantled  by  the 
night.  The  preliminary  to  the  onset  was  brilliant 
and  characteristic.  The  fearless,  careless  minstrel 
rode  before  the  Norman  foot-soldiers  playing  with 
his  spear,  casting  it,  indeed,  in  jaunty  fashion  into 
the  air  and  catching  it  again  by  its  iron  head,  the 
while  he  chanted  songs  in  praise  of  Roland  by 
Charlemagne  and  other  heroes  of  France.  Roland's 
feats  and  achievements  in  wars  with  the  Saracens 
well  qualified  him  to  frame  a  stirring  battle-song, 
the  grandeur  and  stimulating  nature  of  which  it  is 
said  aided  the  Conqueror  greatly  on  this  memorable 
field  day.  Three  times  the  hero-minstrel  did  thus  ; 
then,  poising  the  mighty  weapon,  he  hurled  it  with 
such   "Teat   force  that   it   fell   into  the  midst   of  his 


204  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

enemies,  and,  fixing  one  Saxon,  brought  him  to  the 
dust.  Then  came  the  awful  rush — Taillefer,  the  first 
to  strike  a  blow,  was  the  first  on  William's  side  to 
fall  on  English  soil. 

The  '  Song  of  Roland  '  ('  Chanson  de  Roland  '), 
though  often  referred  to  in  musical  and  general 
literature,   may  well  receive  some  notice  here.      It 

was  originally  composed  if  not  by,  at  least 
of  in    honour  of,    Roland,    Count    of   Mans 

and  Knight  of  Blairs — eight  feet  in  stature 
—  who  was  slain  in  the  Valley  of  Roncesvalles  as  he 
was  leading  his  uncle  Charlemagne's  army  from 
Spain  to  France  (a.d.  778).  A  version  of  the  story 
was  made  in  a  poem  in  the  Anglo-Norman  tongue 
of  Turold,  an  English  minstrel,  circa  11 40  a.d.  As 
in  most  of  the  early  romances,  the  largest  portion  of 
this  poem  consists  of  battle  scenes,  which  are  told 
with  somewhat  of  Homeric  vigour.  It  was  ob- 
viously an  earlier  version,  however,  that  Taillefer 
chanted.  Unfortunately  not  a  little  uncertainty  and 
misrepresentation  have  gathered  round  this  famous 
item  of  history,  both  as  regards  its  words  and  tune 
or  notation.  The  celebrated  composition,  or  one 
bearing  the  title,  whatever  or  whosesoever  it  was, 
was  preserved  as  late  as  the  fourteenth  century,  when 
it  was  sung  at  the  Battle  of  Poictiers  (1356  a.d.). 
There  the  French  soldiers  sang  it  within  hearing  of 
their  King,  John,  and  upon  his  reproaching  one  of 
them  with  singing  it  at  a  time  when  there  were  no 


SONG  OF  ROLAND  205 


Rolands  left,  the  murmur  went  round  that  Rolands 
would  still  be  found  if  they  had  a  Charlemagne  at 
their  head. 

There  are  several  metrical  romances  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Charlemagne  of  considerable  antiquity  still 
extant,  and  one  of  these  may,  possibly,  be  the  '  Song 
of  Roland.'  It  is  at  least  curious  that  while  this 
particular  composition  should  have  escaped  the  vigil- 
ance of  historians,  another  song,  a  '  Lament,'  also 
inspired  by  the  famous  Charlemagne  (742-814  a.d.), 
and  written  in  memory  of  his  death,  is  still  in  exist- 
ence. 

The  story  of  Taillefer  is  not  mentioned  by 
any  contemporary  historian,  and  whether  Turpin, 
Archbishop  of  Rheims  (died  800  a.d.),  who  appears 
to  have  been  first  responsible  for  the  narrative  of 
Roland,  was  himself  relating  the  prowess  of  Roland 
in  his  own  words,  or  repeating  those  which  had 
emanated  from  Charlemagne's  nephew  himself,  is  a 
point  which  will  probably  never  be  cleared  up.  In 
the  fifteenth  century  there  was  a  song  entitled 
'  L 'Homme  Armd*  which  was  popular,  and  Dr. 
Burney  (1726-1814),  our  famous,  but  not  always 
accurate  musical  historian,  who  wrote  long  after- 
wards, conjectured  that  it  was  the  '  Chanson  de 
Roland.'  M.  Bottee  de  Toulmon  proved  it  to  be 
only  a  love-song,  however,  composed  by  Tinctor, 
the  Belgian  composer  (1434- 15  20).  The  same 
authority  considers  the  so-called   '  Song  of  Roland  ' 


206  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

to  have  been  a  '  Chanson  de  Gesle,'  a  metrical 
historical  romance.  This  is  not  unlikely.  Great 
men  who  were  scholars,  from  Charlemagne  down- 
wards, were  wont  to  collect  and  learn  by  heart  all 
that  tended  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  wars 
and  acts  of  the  Kings  who  had  preceded  them.  Such 
fragments  soon  grew  bulky,  and  led  to  such  compo- 
sitions as  another  reputed  '  Chanson  de  Roland?  a 
copy  of  which  is  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  containing 
something-  like  four  thousand  verses.  It  is  needless 
to  remark  that  Taillefer  would  scarcely  have  been 
burdened  with  such  a  weight  of  learning  when  he 
played  that  famous  role  which  cost  him  his  life  before 
the  Saxon  battle-axe.  What  he  sang,  with  his  loud 
voice,  probably  were  such  parts  of  songs  of  the  period 
in  praise  of  Charlemagne,  Roland,  and  other  heroes 
as  he  had  learned,  selections  which  would  be  cal- 
culated to  stir  the  fire  of  the  Norman  soldiers,  and 
animate  them  for  the  terrible  fray  immediately  before 
them.  They  were  pitched  in  French  rhyme,  some- 
thing akin  to  the  following,  which  Wace,  the  Jersey 
man,  and  typical  representative  of  the  Norman- 
French  poets  in  England,  sang  : 

'  Taillifer,  qui  mult  bien  chantout 
Sor  on  cheval  qui  tost  alout, 
Devant  le  Due  alout  chantant 
De  Karlemaiqne  e  de  Rollant, 
E  d'Oliver  e  des  vassals 
Qui  morurent  en  Rencevals.'* 


*    c 


Roman  de  Rou? 


BURNEY'S  'SONG  OF  ROLAND'  207 


Which,  translated,  runs  as  follows  : 

'  Telfair,  who  well  could  sing  a  strain 
Upon  a  horse  that  went  amain, 
Before  the  Duke  rode  singing  loud 
Of  Charlemagne  and  Rouland  good, 
Of  Oliver  and  those  vassals 
Who  lost  their  life  at  Roncevals.' 

Dr.  Burney  felt  constrained  to  print  some  sort  of 
version  of  a  Roland  song  in  his  bulky  '  History  of 
Music,'  and  based  one  on  some  fragments  for  which 
he  was  indebted  to  the  Marquis  de  Paulmy,  but 
neither  the  words  nor  the  tune  make  any  claim  to, 
or  indeed  possess,  the  merest  flavour  of  antiquity. 
This  strain  is  amusing,  and  on  that  account,  and  as 
furnishing  a  specimen  of  Dr.  Burney 's  powers  as  a 
happy  translator,  are  worth  reproducing  in  extenso  : 

MILITARY   SONG   ON   THE   FRENCH    CHAMPION,    ROLAND. 

I. 

1  Let  every  valiant  son  of  Gaul 

Sing  Roland's  deeds,  her  greatest  glory, 
Whose  name  will  stoutest  foes  appal, 

And  feats  inspire  for  future  story. 
Roland  in  childhood  had  no  fears, 

Was  full  of  tricks,  nor  knew  a  letter : 
Which,  though  it  cost  his  mother  tears, 

His  father  cried,  "  So  much  the  better  ! 
We'll  have  him  for  a  soldier  bred, 

His  strength  and  courage  let  us  nourish  ; 
If  bold  the  heart,  though  wild  the  head, 

In  war  he'll  but  the  better  flourish." 

Let  every,  etc. 


208  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

2. 

'  Roland,  arriv'd  at  man's  estate, 

Prov'd  that  his  father  well  admonish'd  : 
For  then  his  prowess  was  so  great 

That  all  the  world  became  astonish'd. 
Battalions,  squadrons  he  could  break, 

And  singly  give  them  such  a  beating, 
That  seeing  him  whole  armies  quake, 
And  nothing  think,  but  of  retreating. 

Let  every,  etc. 

3- 

'  In  single  combat  'twas  the  same  : 
To  him  all  foes  were  on  a  level : 
For  ev'ryone  he  overcame, 

If  giant,  sorcerer,  monster,  devil. 
His  arm  no  danger  e'er  could  stay, 
.  Nor  was  the  goddess  Fortune  fickle, 
For  if  his  foe  he  did  not  slay, 
He  left  him  in  a  rueful  pickle. 

Let  every,  etc. 

4- 

'  In  scaling  walls  with  highest  glee, 

He  first  the  ladder  fixt,  then  mounted  : 
Let  him,  my  boys,  our  model  be, 

Who  men  or  perils  never  counted. 
At  night  with  scouts  he  watch  would  keep, 
With  heart  more  gay  than  one  in  million, 
Or  else  on  knapsack  sounder  sleep 
Than  gen'ral  in  his  proud  pavilion. 

Let  every,  etc. 

5- 
'  On  stubborn  foes  he  vengeance  wreak'd, 
And  laid  about  him  like  a  Tartar  ; 
But  if  for  mercy  once  they  squeak'd, 
He  was  the  first  to  grant  them  quarter. 


'LET  EVERY  VALIANT  SON  OF  GAUL'  209 


The  battle  won,  of  Roland's  soul 
Each  milder  virtue  took  possession  ; 

To  vanquish'd  foes  he  o'er  a  bowl 
His  heart  surrender'd  at  discretion. 

Let  every,  etc. 

6. 

1  When  ask'd  why  Frenchmen  wield  the  brand, 
And  dangers  ev'ry  day  solicit, 
He  said,  'Tis  Charlemagne's  command, 

To  whom  our  duty  is  implicit ; 
His  ministers  and  chosen  few 

No  doubt  have  weigh'd  these  things  in  private, 
Let  us  his  enemies  subdue, 

'Tis  all  that  soldiers  e'er  should  drive  at. 

Let  every,  etc. 

7- 
1  Roland  like  Christian  true  would  live, 
Was  seen  at  Mass,  and  in  procession  ; 
And  freely  to  the  poor  would  give, 

Nor  did  he  always  shun  confession. 
But  Bishop  Turpin  had  decreed 

(His  council  in  each  weighty  matter) 
That  'twas  a  good  and  pious  deed 

His  country's  foes  to  drub  and  scatter. 

Let  every,  etc. 

8. 
'  At  table,  Roland,  ever  gay, 

Would  eat  and  drink,  and  laugh  and  rattle  ; 
But  all  was  in  a  prudent  way, 

On  days  of  guard,  or  eve  of  battle. 
For  still  to  king  and  country  true, 

He  held  himself  their  constant  debtor. 
And  only  drank  in  season  due 

When  to  transact  he'd  nothing  better. 

Let  every,  etc. 

14 


2io  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

9- 

'  To  captious  blades  he  ne'er  would  bend, 
W ho  quarrels  sought  on  slight  pretences  : 
Though  he,  to  social  joys  a  friend, 

Was  slow  to  give  or  take  offences. 
None  e'er  had  cause  his  arm  to  dread, 

But  those  who  wrong'd  his  prince  or  nation, 
On  whom  whene'er  to  combat  led 
He  dealt  out  death  and  devastation. 

Let  every,  etc. 

10. 

'  Roland  too  much  ador'd  the  fair, 

From  whom  e'en  heroes  are  defenceless, 
And  by  a  queen  of  beauty  rare 

He  all  at  once  was  render'd  senseless. 
One  hapless  morn  she  left  the  knight, 

Who,  when  he  miss'd  her,  grew  quite  frantic  ; 
Our  pattern  let  him  be  in  fight, 

His  love  was  somewhat  too  romantic. 

Let  every,  etc. 

ii. 

'  His  mighty  uncle,  Charles  the  Great, 
Who  Rome's  imperial  sceptre  wielded, 
Both  early  dignity  and  state, 

With  high  command,  to  Roland  yielded. 
Yet  though  a  gen'ral,  count,  and  peer, 

Roland's  kind  heart  all  pride  could  smother  ; 
For  each  brave  man,  from  van  to  rear, 
He  treated  like  a  friend  and  brother. 

Let  ever j','  etc. 

To  these  words  he  assigned  the  following  tune, 
which  is  singularly  deficient  in  those  stirring  pro- 
perties which  Taillefer's  song  must  have  possessed 
to   have  affected  the  soldiers,  or  to  have  won   the 


'CHANSON  DE  ROLAND' 


1 1 


commendation  that  tradition  has  assigned  to  it.      It 
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Of  much  truer  ring  is  the  following  harmonized 
melody,  which  unquestionably  possesses  an  old-time 
character,  and  is  sufficiently  inspiriting  to  have 
stirred  less  impressionable  beings  than  the  picked 
soldiers  that  flocked  under  William's  banner,  a  holy 
banner  that  had  received  the  blessing  of  the  Pope 
himself,  and  beneath  which  the  Norman  priests 
attached  to  the  army,  and  the  soldiers,  sang  psalms 


CROTCH'S  'CHANSOX  ROLAND1 


21  • 


and  chanted  litanies  and  misereres  the  whole  long 
night  preceding  Senlac  : 


CHANSON  ROLAND. 


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Dr.  Crotch  has  printed  the  above  tune  in  the  third 
edition  of  his  '  Specimens  of  Various  Styles  of 
Music,'  but  he  does  not  trace  its  source,  and  is 
unable  to  vouch  for  its  authenticity. 

As  the  Norman  settlement  proceeded,  the  music 
of  Norman  France  became  more  and  more  dis- 
tributed   among    the     English.       It    leavened    the 


214  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

musical  inclinations  of  the  inhabitants,  but  it  can 
never  be  urged  that  it  displaced  the  old  art  of  the 
country.     This    remained    as    permanent    as    ever 

Influence    within  the  breast  of  Briton  and   Saxon. 

Norman  ^e  Norman  influence  lent  some  polish 
Music.  to  the  Brito-Saxon  art,  undoubtedly,  but 
it  did  not  dispel  the  old  musical  spirit  of  the  natives, 
or  mar  the  enthusiasm  with  which  they  were  wont 
to  recount  in  song  the  glorious  achievements  and 
records  of  past  ages.  Great  dwellings  existed  which, 
if  not  entitled  to  rank  as  baronial  hall  and  castle,  yet 
were  scarcely  ever  without  their  pedestal  galleries 
for  the  minstrels,  from  which  at  feasts,  and  upon 
auspicious  occasions,  singers  and  instrumentalists 
delighted  the  assembled  guests  : 

'  Illumining  the  vaulted  roof 
A  thousand  torches  flam'd  aloof ; 
From  many  a  cup,  with  golden  gleam, 
Sparkled  the  red  metheglin's  stream  ; 
To  grace  the  gorgeous  festival, 
Along  the  lofty  window'd  hall, 
The  storied  tapestry  was  hung. 
With  minstrelsy  the  rafters  rung, 
Of  harps  that  from  reflected  light 
From  the  proud  gallery  glitter'd  bright. 
To  crown  the  banquet's  solemn  close, 
Themes  of  British  glory  rose  ; 
And  to  the  strings  of  various  chimes 
Attemper'd  the  heroic  rhymes.' 

The  minstrel's  was,  indeed,  a  privileged  calling, 
and  all  the  recognition  accorded  to  it— and  this  was 


MIXSTREL   WIT  215 


no  small  measure — grew  out  of  the  natural  love  for 
music  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  No  matter  the 
country,  no  matter  the  people,  everyone  then,  as 
now,  loved  music  per  se,  and  whatever  was  the  form 
in  which  it  was  presented,  it  was  welcomed  with  such 
heartiness  and  such  unmistakable  signs  of  pleasure 
that  no  one  was  in  doubt. 

This  is  easy  to  imagine.  The  Western  world  was 
emerging  from  a  state  of  night  into  day.  The 
change  was  gradual,  but  it  was  real,  and  the  tendency 
of  it  all  was  towards  a  '  sweetness  and  light '  yet 
imperfect  even  in  our  day.  Music  was  a  great  factor, 
and  it  appealed  to  the  heart  of  noble  and  serf  alike. 
Wherever  the  minstrels  took  music,  there  it  soon 
was  in  the  ascendant.  Especially  was  this  the  case 
in  England.  For  many  years,  indeed,  is  the  history 
of  our  country  associated  with  the  minstrel  in  person 
and  practice,  and  this  happy  state  covered  the  reigns 
of  many  of  the  English  kings.  It  is  a  pity  that  they 
ever  declined.  They  did  so,  however,  and  this 
mainly  from  causes  which  originated  from  among 
themselves.  They  resorted  to  everything  and  any- 
thing to  amuse  their  patrons,  stopping  at  nothing 
that  would  gratify  their  purses  and  appetites. 

A  curious  anecdote  shows  at  once  the  readiness  and 
resource  of  the  minstrel,  and  the  kind  of  patron  with 
whom  he  had  betimes  to  deal.  Before  the  minstrel 
was  the  jongleur,  and  the  difference  is  expressed  in 
the  following  story  :  A  minstrel  once  appeared  at  a 


216  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


castle  gate  and  asked  permission  to  enter  and  eat. 
The  porter  asked  him  what  he  was.  He  replied, 
4  God's  servant.'  On  this  being  told  to  the  lord  of 
the  castle,  he  said  if  that  was  the  case  he  should  not 
be  admitted.  When  the  minstrel  heard  this,  he  took 
the  role  of  the  jongleur  and  said  he  was  Satan's  ser- 
vant, on  which  he  was  told  he  might  enter,  '  because 
he  was  a  good  fellow.' 

The  last  state  of  the  jongleur  was  a  sad  one 
indeed.  He  became  a  stroller  and  vagabond,  and 
having  to  face  all  sorts  of  auditors,  he  often  supple- 
mented his  musical  powers  with  tricks,  sleight  of 
hand,  and  buffoonery.  In  a  MS.  in  the  British 
Museum  (Add.  ii.  694)  two  jongleurs  are  represented 
as  dancing  in  very  curious  clogs.  One  plays  the 
viol  while  the  other  is  performing  tricks  with  a  pea- 
cock and  brandishing  a  knife.  As  early  as  the  time 
of  Henry  III.  (12 16-1272),  the  jongleurs,  who  sang 
the  songs  composed  by  the  trouveres,  or  trouba- 
dours, were  falling  into  disrepute,  the  genteeler  and 
more  talented  minstrels  being  more  in  accord  with 
the  greater  civilization  of  the  times. 

It  is  easy  to  realize  that  the  great  wave  of  romantic 

musical  art  which  came  over  with  William  I.  did  not 

Eff  disappear  with  the  Norman  rule.     On  the 

Min-       contrary,  it  became  a  striking  feature  in 

after    English    social    life.     Scene    after 

scene  is  presented  wherein  the  minstrel  stands  out 

so  prominently  as   to  appear  rather  strange  to  us 


BLONDEL  217 


with  our  present  notions.  We  can  hardly  fully  realize 
the  close  relationship  that  then  existed  between 
patron  and  minstrel,  or  the  sympathy  that  one  had 
with  the  other.  Minstrelsy  was  long  a  power  in  the 
land,  and  the  doings  of  the  minstrel  and  the  atten- 
tion bestowed  upon  him  become  items  of  interest 
throughout  the  reigns  of  several  sovereigns.  A  few 
instances  are  worthy  of  note. 

As  early  as  the  reign  of  Henry  11.(1154-1 189  a.d.) 
the  record  has  been  traced  of  one  Jeffrey,  also  called 
Galfridus  Citharaedus,  who  received  a  corrody  or 
annuity  from  the  Benedictine  abbey  of  Hide,  near 
Winchester,  as  a  reward,  no  doubt,  for  the  exercise 
of  his  musical  talents  on  important  occasions. 
Another  name  of  musical  note  of  this  time  (11S0) 
which  has  been  preserved,  is  that  of  Einion,  the 
priest,  who  wrote  Dwned,  or  Book  of  Minstrelsy. 

The  name  of  the  gallant  and  chivalrous  monarch, 

Richard  I.,  is  indelibly  associated  with  minstrelsy  in 

England.     A  liberal  patron  of  poets  and  minstrels, 

he  loved  sweet  music,  and  could  himself 
Richard  I.  ... 

and         exert    the     tuneful     lyre     with     cunning 

skill.      Like  the  Monarchs  of  his  day,  he 

owned    his    court   of  minstrels,    where    his    musical 

tastes  were  mainly  gratified  by  a  favourite  minstrel, 

whose  name  was  Blondel  de  Nesle. 

This  King  of  many  parts  ascended  the  throne  in 

the  year  1 189.     Shortly  before,  the  generous  Sultan 

Saladin  had  been  victorious  in  the  battle  of  Tiberias, 


218 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


and  had  reconquered  Jerusalem  and  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre. The  European  Christians  felt  it  to  be  their 
duty  to  avenge  this  defeat,  and  deemed  it  indispen- 
sable to  declare  war  again  with  Saladin.  Richard 
Cceur  de  Lion,  the  most  valiant  and  chivalrous  prince 
of  the  time,  was  particularly  anxious  to  show  his 
bravery  and  his  sincere  devotion  to  the  holy  cause. 
To  be  enabled  to  procure  the  necessary  means,  he 

not  only  sold  his  own 
jewels  and  treasures,  but 
disposed  of  the  domains 
and  jewels  of  the  Crown. 
'  I  would  even  sell  Lon- 
don,' he  said,  'could  I 
but  find  a  buyer  for  it.' 

Owing  to  his  intre- 
pidity, which  had  in  it  a 
touch  of  the  romantic, 
and  to  his  innate  desire 
for  adventures,  he  was 
called  '  Cceur  de  Lion '  (Lion-heart),  and  became 
one  of  the  most  famous  and  admired  heroes  of  that 
chivalrous  time.  His  very  name  was  dreaded  and 
feared  by  the  Saracens  and  the  Turks,  so  that 
mothers  threatened  their  crying  children  with  it  in 
order  to  quiet  them.  When  the  horses  of  the  Arabs 
shied  or  became  restive,  the  riders,  in  giving  them 
the  spur,  exclaimed,  '  Dost  thou  fancy  thou  canst 
see  King  Richard?'     It  is  scarcely  possible  to  give  a 


RICHARD    I. 


RICHARD—1  LION-HEARTED '  219 

more  decided  proof  of  Richard's  influence,  and  the 
great  power  his  name  exercised  upon  his  enemies. 
The  romanticists  of  the  period  found  something  so 
admirable  in  the  deeds  of  the  chivalrous  King  that 
they  could  not  help  fancying  that  Richard  was  in  the 
actual  possession  of  Kalibur  or  Escalibor,  the  magic 
sword  of  the  great  warrior  King  Arthur ;  although 
it  is  related  in  other  books  that,  according  to  the 
wish  of  Arthur,  his  shield-bearers  threw  his  famous 
sword,  after  his  death,  into  the  sea. 

It  is  the  story  of  the  imprisonment  of  the  '  Lion- 
hearted  '  upon  his  return  from  the  Crusades,  and  his 
subsequent  discovery  by  Blondel,  which  forms  a 
narrative  so  attractive  to  young  minds  and  old  in 
the  life  of  this  fearless  English  King:. 

During  the  siege  of  Ascalon,  Richard  had  offended 
the  Duke  Leopold  of  Austria  so  greatly  that  the. 
latter  (although  not  sufficiently  brave  to  demand 
satisfaction  with  the  sword  from  such  a  valorous 
antagonist  as  the  Lion-hearted  Richard)  went  home, 
determined  to  take  revenge,  without  placing  himself 
in  any  immediate  personal  danger.  He  had  not 
long  to  wait.  Leopold  had  nursed  in  his  breast  the 
remembrance  of  his  quarrel  with  King  Richard 
whilst  in  Palestine,  and  suddenly  he  got  his  enemy 
within  his  reach.  Escaping  the  Paynim  foe,  the 
Red  Cross  hero  was  wrecked  in  the  ship  which 
brought  him  to  European  shores,  near  Aquileia. 
This  mishap  necessitated  his  passing  through   the 


220  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Duke's  dominions  in  order  to  reach  England,  to 
accomplish  which  he  took  the  precaution  to  disguise 
himself  as  a  pilgrim.  Notwithstanding  his  fore- 
thought, he  was  discovered,  and  forthwith  confined 
in  prison.  The  place  of  immurement  was  the  fortress 
of  Diirnstein,  surrounded  by  the  Emmersdorf  coun- 
try. Poised  on  the  crest  of  a  well-nigh  perpendicular 
rock,  it  stood  one  of  the  most  formidable  among  the 
castles  of  the  age.  The  Danube  swept  by,  and 
lashed  the  base  of  the  gigantic  fabric.  There  was  a 
tower  which  still  remains — a  monument  of  the  skill 
and  daring  of  mediaeval  builders — wherein  the  Eng- 
lish King  was  imprisoned. 

Blondel,  following  his  master  from  Palestine,  had 
lost  sight  of  him  in  the  wreck,  being  himself  driven 
into  the  lagunes  of  Venice  ;  but,  faithful  singer,  he 
no  sooner  reached  terra  Jirma  than  his  thoughts 
turned  to  the  whereabouts  of  his  royal  patron.  Not 
finding  any  clue,  he  determined  that  he  would  travel 
the  whole  of  Europe  to  find  his  beloved  master, 
and  it  was  in  carrying  out  his  resolve  that  Blondel 
heard,  quite  by  accident,  the  rumour  that  his  King 
was  imprisoned.  Suddenly  he  remembered  the 
circumstance  of  his  master's  old  disagreement  with 
Duke  Leopold,  and  starting  off  for  Austria,  after 
many  searchings  and  more  misgivings,  he  learnt  of 
a  most  notable  prisoner  suffering  confinement  in  the 
stern  castle  of  Diirnstein. 

Now  did  Blondel's  heart  beat  for  joy.      He  felt 


RICHARD  L'S  LOVE -SONG  221 


sure  he  had  all  but  found  his  royal  patron.  How- 
could  he  reach  him  ?  Bribes  or  fair-dealing  would 
only  frustrate  the  end  he  had  in  view.  At  last  he 
bethought  him  to  approach  a  window  in  the  tower, 
from  which  he  hoped  and  suspected  the  imprisoned 
one  might  catch  his  voice.  This  was  so.  In  the 
stillness  of  the  night  he  preluded  on  his  instrument, 
and  began  to  sing  a  romanza  composed  by  Richard 
himself  in  Palestine  at  a  time  when  ardent  love  for 
the  beautiful  Marguerite,  Countess  of  Hennegau, 
filled  his  whole  heart.      Blondel  began  : 

1  Fierce  in  me  the  fever  burning, 
Strength  and  confidence  unmanned, 
Eyes,  though  dark  their  sight  is  turning, 
Yet  discerning 

Through  the  gloom  Death's  pallid  hand 
Grimly  stretched  across  from  out  the  spectral  land  ; 
Then  came  my  Love  so  bright  and  true, 
And  Death  and  fever  quickly  withdrew.' 

Here  the  minstrel  stopped  ;  as  each  verse  of  the 
song  had  a  refrain,  he  was  sure  that,  if  the  captive 
was  really  Richard,  he  would  now  betray  himself 
in  singing  the  refrain. 

Blondel's  supposition  proved  correct.  A  voice, 
hollow,  yet  well  practised  in  the  art  of  singing, 
answered  from  the  prison  : 

'  I  know  with  full  assurance 
That  Woman's  gentle  care 
Brings  comfort,  hope,  endurance, 
In  time  of  deep  despair.' 


222  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


'  When  to  arms  the  trumpet  sounded, 
Swift  I  rushed  amid  the  fray, 
Where  the  heaviest  blows  abounded, 
Till  surrounded 
By  the  foe,  I  stood  at  bay  ; 

Powerless  sank  my  arm,  black  night  obscured  my  day  ; 
On  Love  I  called,  nor  called  in  vain, 
And  victor  rested  on  the  plain.' 

The  same  voice  replied  : 

'  I  know  with  full  assurance 
That  Woman's  gentle  care 
Brings  comfort,  hope,  endurance, 
In  time  of  deep  despair.' 

Blondel  finished  with  the  last  verse  of  the  song  : 

'  When  the  air  is  rent  asunder 
By  the  furious  battle-cry, 
When  the  lightning  and  the  thunder 
Raise  our  wonder 
And  alarm,  resigned  am  I ; 

Never  from  my  heart  shall  trust  and  courage  fly  ; 
Though  danger  still  my  steps  pursue, 
Love  always  bears  me  safely  through.' 

The  voice  again  answered  : 

'  I  know  with  full  assurance 

That  Woman's  gentle  care 
Brings  comfort,  hope,  endurance, 
In  time  of  deep  despair.' 

Great  was  Blondel's  joy,  as  now  there  was  scarcely 
a  doubt  that  it  was  his  beloved  Royal  master  who 
had  answered  him ;  but  to  make  quite  sure,  he 
improvised  a  fourth  verse  to  the  same  melody  : 


BLONDEL  FINDS  KING  RICHARD  223 


'  Foul  revenge  and  envy  waken 
'Gainst  the  Lion  coward  spite ; 
Trapped,  he  is  to  prison  taken, 
All  forsaken  ; 

Faith  guides  Blondel's  search  aright  ; 
Lionheart !  soon  shines  before  thee, 
Freedom's  light  !' 

And  at  once  the  voice  of  the  unseen  captive 
replied  likewise  in  improvisation  : 

'  Were  lovely  Margot  now  with  me, 
This  dungeon  would  a  heaven  be  ! 
For — I  know  with  full  assurance 

That  Woman's  gentle  care 
Brings  comfort,  hope,  endurance, 

In  time  of  deep  despair.' 

Then  did  Blondel  feel  certain  that  he  had  found 
his  patron  and  King.  He  sped  to  England,  and 
told  his  story  to  the  barons  and  nobles.  Without 
loss  of  time  a  treaty  was  entered  into  for  Richard's 
ransom,  and  though  the  enormous  sum  of  .£300,000 
was  demanded,  it  was  collected  and  cheerfully  paid 
in  order  that  England  might  once  more  become 
possessed  of  her  lawful  valorous  sovereign. 

A  lay,  or  song  of  complaint,  is  attributed  to 
Richard  I.  during  his  imprisonment  in  the  Tour 
Tenebreuse,  or  Black  Tower.  The  following  stanza 
shows  its  style  and  drift  : 

1  No  wretched  captive  of  his  prison  speaks, 
Unless  with  pain  and  bitterness  of  soul  ; 
Yet  consolation  from  the  Muse  he  seeks, 
Whose  voice  alone  misfortune  can  control. 


224 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Where  now  is  each  ally,  each  baron,  friend, 
Whose  face  I  ne'er  beheld  without  a  smile  ? 

Will  none,  his  Sov'reign  to  redeem,  expend 
The  smallest  portion  of  his  treasures  vile  ?' 

As  we  all  know,  the  King  was  set  free,  and  came 
again  to  England.  When  he  died,  a  troubadour, 
named  alike  Gaucelm  and  Anselm  Faidit,  who  had 
followed  in  his  train  to  Palestine,  wrote  a  poem  on 
the  death  of  his  benefactor.  Here  are  the  grateful 
bard's  words  and  music  : 


Now  fate  has      filled     the      mea  -  sure  of  my  woes, 


And 


iil^l 


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JpZJtzf^Egp 


lp=t 


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■-T 


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1=+=±±±jt3=±=*=± 


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::_srf: 


z*=M-4. 


rent  my  heart  with  grief      un  -  felt  be  -  fore:       No     fu-ture  blessings 


-m^m 


X- 


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fci 


wounds  like  these  can  close,         Or        mi  -  ti  -  gate  the  loss  I  now  de- 

4-^4,T_  I    I  il- 


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HLOXDEL'S  SOATG 


2-5 


ii 


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plcre.     The  valiant   Richard,     England's  mighty    king,  The 


?3B3 


H* 


l_[    ' 1 L-. L J 


-; — I — I '■ — =TT~1~  ^ —I I^-^^H11! 


fire  and  chief      of      all     that's  good  and  brave, 


Of    tyrant 


* 


iS^^ 


Death  has  f>  It  the  fa  -  lal     sling:  A  thousand  years  hi?  equal  may  not 


sfe^teg^^i^p 


bring, 


The  world  from  meanness  and  con  -  tempt       to 


n0     tt: 


^-*- 


— I -1 F—F—0-, 


-e- 

-i — 

H 


J ^0{    |      | 1 j— ^01  —\     


D 
save. 


The  world  from  mean   -  ness  and     con-tempt  to     save. 


15 


226  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

This  song  breathes  the  spirit  of  affection  and 
loyalty  that  existed  between  minstrel  and  patron, 
even  when  as  distantly  distinguished  as  were  this 
King  and  subject,  in  those  palmy  days  ere  minstrelsy 
gave  way  before  the  methods  and  principles  of  a 
theoretical  and  scientific  art. 

Another  musical  event  in  Richard  I.'s  reign  was 
the  discovery  and  release  of  the  captured  heiress  of 
D'Evreaux,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  from  her  relations  in 
Normandy,  by  a  knight  disguised  as  a  harper,  who 
carried  her  off  in  triumph,  and  presented  her  to  the 
King.  He  gave  her  in  marriage  to  his  natural 
brother,  William  Longespee,  who  thus  became  Earl 
of  Salisbury  in  his  wife's  right. 

The  story  of  King  Richard  and  Blondel  will  pre- 
pare the  reader  for  the  many  privileges  extended  to 
minstrels  ;  nor  will  he  be  surprised  to  find  that 
eventually  these  favours  became  so  numerous,  far- 
reaching,  and  so  abused,  that  legislative  control  had 
to  be  exercised  over  them. 

One  singular  privilege  concerned  with  minstrels 

and   minstrelsy  dates    as   far  back  as  the  reign  of 

King  John  (i  199-1216  a.d.),  and  was  confirmed  in 

_  modern   times   as  recently  as  the  seven- 

Pnvileges 

of  the  teenth  year  of  George  I  I.'s  reign.  It 
IV1  i  nstrsls. 

arose    out    of    the    Midsummer    Fair   at 

Chester,   the  institution   of  which  is   traced   to   the 

time  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  when  Leofric,  Earl 

of   Chester,   among   other  grants   in   favour  of  the 


CHESTER  MINSTRELS'  FAIR  227 


Abbey  of  St.  Werburg  in  that  city,  established  a 
fair  on  the  festival  of  the  saint  to  whom  it  was 
dedicated,  and  ordained  that  the  persons  of  vaga- 
bonds of  every  description,  and  even  culprits,  who 
should  assemble  there  during  that  solemnity,  should 
be  safe,  provided  they  were  not  guilty  of  any  new 
offence. 

This  privilege  happened  to  prove  of  singular 
advantage  to  Earl  Randal,  who  in  1212  a.d., 
during  the  reign  of  King  John, 
was  unexpectedly  besieged  by 
the  Welsh  in  Rhuddllan  Castle,  in 
Flintshire.  The  loose  people  at 
the  fair  were  summoned  together, 
through  the  aid  of  Robert  de 
Lacy,  Constable  of  Chester,  who, 
with  pipers  and  other  minstrels, 
led  them   into  the  castle,  and   by 

111-  1  J-.lv.N-Sl  KlINUILU      llAKr 

their  number  and  appearance,  ok  the  twelfth  cen- 
rather  than  by  their  prowess,  so 
terrified  the  Welsh  that  they  fled  instantly.  '  In 
memory  of  which  notable  exploit,'  we  are  told,  'that 
famous  meeting  of  such  minstrels  hath  been  duly 
continued  to  every  midsummer  fair  ;  at  which  time 
the  heir  of  Hugh  de  Dutton,  accompanied  with 
divers  gentlemen,  having  a  penon  of  his  arms  borne 
before  him  by  one  of  the  principal  minstrels,  who 
also  weareth  his  surtout,  first  rideth  up  to  the  east 
gate  of  the  city,  and  there  causeth  proclamation  to 


228  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

be  made  that  all  the  musicians  and  minstrels  within 
the  County  Palatine  of  Chester  do  approach  and  play 
before  him.  Presently,  so  attended,  he  rideth  to 
St.  John's  Church,  and  having  heard  solemn  service, 
proceedeth  to  the  place  for  keeping  of  his  court, 
where  the  steward,  having  called  every  •  minstrel, 
impanelleth  a  jury,  and  giveth  his  charge  ;  first  to 
inquire  of  any  treason  against  the  King,  or  Prince 
(as  Earl  of  Chester)  ;  secondly,  whether  any  man 
of  that  profession  hath  exercised  his  instrument 
without  licence  from  the  lord  of  that  court,  or 
what  misdemeanour  he  is  guilty  of;  and,  thirdly, 
whether  they  have  heard  any  language  amongst 
their  fellows,  tending  to  the  dishonour  of  their  lord 
and  patron,  the  heir  of  Dutton.  Which  privilege 
was  anciently  so  granted  by  John  de  Lacy,  Con- 
stable of  Chester,  son  and  heir  to  the  above 
specified  Roger,  unto  John  de  Dutton  and  his  heirs, 
by  a  special  charter,  in  these  words,  "  Magisterium 
omnium  liccatorum  et  meretricum  tot  ins  Cestre shire" 
and  hath  been  thus  exercised  time  out  of  mind.' 

Among  the  many  occupations  of  minstrels  was 
an  attendance  at  important  marriages.  In  the  year 
Employ-  1290  a.d.  Eleanor,  Queen  of  Henry  II., 
mforS  witnessed  such  felicitous  events  as  the 
Minstrels,  marriage  of  her  two  daughters,  Joan  and 
Margaret.  Both  ceremonies  were  conducted  with 
much  splendour,  and  minstrels  from  all  parts  flocked 
to  Westminster.      It   is   improbable   that  they  took 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  MINSTRELS 


HEXRY    II. 


any  active  musical  part  in  the  religious  service,  since 
the  choral  establishment 
of  the  Abbey  would  have 
been  adequate  for  the 
occasion  ;  and  it  is  more 
likely  that  the  minstrels' 
services  were  required  for 
the  rejoicings  and  festivi- 
ties that  followed  the  cere- 
mony. 

From  the  records  of 
these  auspicious  occa- 
sions, we  read  that  several 
'  kind's  of  the  minstrels  '  were  present.      These  were 

Grey  of  England,  Caupenny 
from  Scotland,  and  Poveret, 
the  minstrel  of  the  Mareschal 
of  Champagne,  who,  when  not 
occupied  on  account  of  their 
superior  merit  in  solo  perform- 
ances, planned  and  conducted 
the  minstrelsy  in  chorus,  and 
were  responsible  for  the  con- 
duct of  the  music  and  the  be- 
haviour   of    those    who    per- 

PERFORMER    ON     A    CIRCULAR 

psaltery  or  the  twelfth   formed   it.      That    some   such 

N  I  DRY. 

arrangement  was  necessary 
becomes  evident  when  we  remember  the  large 
numbers   in    which   the    minstrels  gathered  together 


230 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


upon  special  occasions.  Thus,  at  the  nuptials  of 
Henry  II.'s  daughter  Margaret  there  were  over  four 
hundred  minstrels,  English  and  others,  engaged.* 

The  policy,  with  its  consequences,  of  the  lofty, 
intrepid,  and  inflexible  prelate — Thomas  a  Becket — 
in  this  reign  have  cast  some  little  light  upon  the 
musical  features  of  the  time.      Thus,  when  in    1 1 59 


Noble.        Churchman.    Yeoman.      Peasants.        Soldiers. 
ENGLISH   COSTUMES,    TIME   OF    HENRY    II. 


the  future  '  Archbishop  and  priest  of  God  '  went  to 
Paris  to  negotiate  the  marriage  between  the  eldest 
son  of  Henry  II.  and  the  daughter  of  Louis  VII., 

*  And  such  numbers  might  easily  have  been  increased  in  the 
manner  suggested  by  Du  Cange.     '  In  the  Middle  Ages,'  he  writes, 
'  these  men  swarmed  so  about  the  houses  and  courts  of  the  great, 
and  princes  spent  such  large  sums  on  them,  as  completely  to 
their  coffers.' 


HENRY  III.'S  MINSTREL  PATRONAGE  231 


he  entered  the  French  towns  '  preceded  by  two 
hundred  and  fifty  boys  on  foot,  in  groups  of  six,  ten 
or  more  together,  singing  English  songs,  according 
to  the  custom  of  their  country.' 

The  foul  murder  episode  takes  us  into  the  old 
Cathedral.  It  was  dim  twilight — the  hour  of  vespers, 
which,  indeed,  had  already  commenced.  At  the 
sound  of  the  psalmody  of  the  choir,  a  voice  ex- 
claimed :  '  To  the  church — it  will  afford  protection.' 
The  alarmed  monks  forced  the  Archbishop  with  pious 
violence  through  the  cloisters  into  the  church,  where 
they,  trembling  with  fear,  concealed  themselves 
under  the  altars  and  behind  the  pillars  of  the  church. 
Becket  met  his  murderers  as  he  descended  from  the 
chapel  of  St.  Benedict  into  the  transepts.  He  passed 
them,  and  took  up  his  station  against  a  column  be- 
tween  the  altars  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Bennett,  where 
in  a  few  moments  he  was  cruelly  butchered. 

We  learn,  from  an  old  record,  that  Henry  III. 
( 1  2  16-1272  a.d.),  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  his  reign, 
gave  forty  shillings  and  a  pipe  of  wine  to  Richard, 
his  harper,  and  also  another  pipe  of  wine  to  Beatrice, 
the  harper's  wife — '  et  in  uno  dolio  empto  et  dato 
Beatrice  uxori  ejusdem  Ricardi.' 

Given  not  a  little  to  the  fine  arts,  Henry, 
though  stupid  and  weak  as  a  sovereign,  and  quite 
unequal  to  the  troublous  spirit  of  the  times,  yet 
favoured  music,  painting,  and  architecture.  Some 
of  our   best  Cathedral   architecture   dates   from   his 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


reign  ;#  illuminated  Prayer- Books,  missals,  and  the 
like,  afforded  engrossing  labour  for  the  cultured 
minds  of  his  period.  We  find  one  Henry  d'Avran- 
ches,  probably  a  Norman  Frenchman,  dignified  with 
the  title  of  Master  Henry  the  Versifier,  an  appella- 
tion which  has  been  held  to  imply  a  character  some- 
what different  from  the  Royal  minstrel  or  joculator. 
In  the  years  1249  and  1251  A.D.  are  to  be  found 
orders  on  the  Treasurer  of  the  Royal  Household  to 
pay  this  '  Master  Henry  '  one  thousand  shillings, 
probably  a  year's  stipend.  Thus  music  was  be- 
friended by  this  King. 

The  next  Sovereign,  Edward  I.,  '  Longshanks ' 
(1 272-1307  a.d.),  was  more  addicted  to  tiltings  and 
tournaments  than  to  the  pleasure  and  profit  which 
music  afforded.  He  appears  to  have  retained  some 
patronage  of  the  art,  for  we  hear  of  his  minstrel  not 
following  his  avocation  merely,  but  actually  guarding. 

*  Among  the  principal  churches  in  the  Early  English  style  of 
architecture  built  in  this  reign  are  :  Wells  Cathedral,  built  by 
Bishop  Joceline,  1225-1229  a.d.  ;  Lucock  Abbey,  Wilts,  built  by 
Ela  Longespee,  Countess  of  Salisbury,  and  afterwards  Abbess, 
1232-1238  a.d.  ;  Southwell  Minster  choir,  built  by  Archbishop 
Grey,  1232  a.d.;  Ely  Cathedral  Presbytery,  built  by  Bishop 
Northwold,  1235-1252  a.d.:  Ashbourne  Church,  Derbyshire, 
1 235-1 241  a.d.  ;  Netley  Abbey,  built  by  Bishop  Peter  de 
Roche,  a.d.  1239  ;  Nine  Altars  Chapel,  Durham  Cathedral,  built 
by  Bishop  Poore,  1242-1290  a.d.;  Glasgow  Cathedral  choir, 
built  by  Bishop  Burdington,  1 242-1 248  a.d.  ;  Chetwode  Church, 
Bucks,  an  Austin  priory,  1244  a.d.  ;  choir  and  transepts,  West- 
minster Abbey,  rebuilt  by  Henry  III.  at  his  own  expense;  Crow- 
land  Abbey,  built  by  Abbot  Ralph  de  Marche,  1 255-1 281  a.d., 
and  several  others. 


MASSACRE  OF  WELSH  BARDS 


233 


and  avenging  an  injury  to,  the  person  of  his  master. 
A  short  time  before  Edward   I.  ascended  the  throne 

he    was    accompanied    by   his    harper    to 
Edward  I.  . 

saved  by  a  the    Holy    Land.      Upon   an   occasion   at 
Minstrel.     T,     .  .  1111  •   r 

rtolemais,  fc. award  had  the  misfortune  to 

be  wounded  with  a  poisoned  knife,  whereupon  his 
harper,  '  Citharatdus  suus,'  who  must  have  been  in 
close  attendance  upon  his  Royal  master,  and  is 
worthy  of  praise  for  his  alertness,  hearing  the 
struggle,  rushed  into  the  Royal  apartments,  and, 
striking  the  would-be  as- 
sassin on  the  head  with 
a  tripod  or  trestle,  beat 
out  his  brains,  thus  ade- 
quately requiting  the 
insult  to  the  King. 

It  would  be  thought 
that  such  a  signal  service 
would  not  be  forgotten 
by  the  Sovereign,  and 
would  have  inclined  him 
favourably  towards  musi- 
cians generally.     This  does  not  appear, 

Massacre  7 

of  Welsh    according  to  some  writers,  to  have  been 
Bards 

the  case.      The  bards  had  not  lost  their 

primitive  influence  over  the  people  in  the   time  of 

Kdward   I.,  who,   it   is   said,   became  so  irritated  at 

the  continual  insurrections  and  disturbances  fomented 

by  their  songs,  that   Ik;  caused  many  of  them  to  be 

hanged.      This  reputed  massacre  of  Welsh  bards,  it 


EDW  \K1>    I. 


234  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

must  be  stated,  is  not  generally  believed.  To  Sharon 
Turner,  who  studied  Anglo-Saxon  history  minutely, 
it  '  seems  rather  a  vindictive  tradition  of  an  irritated 
nation,  than  a  historical  fact.  The  destruction  of 
the  independent  sovereignties  of  Wales  abolished 
the  patronage  of  the  bards,  and  in  the  cessation  of 
internal  warfare  and  of  external  ravages  they  lost 
their  favourite  subjects  and  most  familiar  imagery. 
They  declined  because  they  were  no  longer  en- 
couraged.' This  so-called  massacre,/  then,  may  be 
taken  as  a  fable,  the  best  authority  for  which  will 
hardly  bear  scrutiny. 

The  reader  will  be  struck  with  such  an  array  of 
minstrels  as  the  426  who  gathered  together  when 
Edward  I.  created  some  young  knights  ;  and  it  can 
easily  be  imagined  that  their  musical  performances 
would  be  of  an  extremely  effective  and  beautiful  kind, 
inasmuch  as  they  were  probably  all  picked  harpers 
and  songmen  reputed  for  their  skill  in  music.  There 
is  an  interesting  record  relating  to  their  accommoda- 
tion and  that  of  the  guests  on  this  occasion,  to  the 
effect  that  '  the  Royal  palace,  although  large,  was 
nevertheless  small  for  the  crowTd  of  comers,'  where- 
fore the  '  full  Court '  was  held  by  King  Edward 
simultaneously  at  Westminster  and  the  New  Temple. 
The  topography  of  the  time  no  doubt  admitted  of 
the  whole  stretch  of  land,  from  Westminster  to  the 
City,  forming  a  part  of  the  Royal  demesne — inter- 
sected by  another  palace  at  the  Savoy — the  line  of 
approach  being  the  pleasant  waterway  of  the  Thames. 


CHORUS  HARP-MUSIC  235 


As  to  the  music,  the  very  nature  of  the  minstrel's 
art  would  be  almost  a  guarantee  of  success.  There 
were  no  harsh  instruments  employed  ;  drums, 
cornets,  and  tubas,  if  known,  were  eschewed  for  an 
accompaniment  of  a  much  more  graceful  and  charm- 
ing kind.  The  instrument  par  excellence  was  the 
human  voice  in  solo  and  chorus.  It  had  an  accom- 
paniment and  support  in  the  harp,  singly  or  in 
bands,  with  strings  plucked  in  wondrous  fashion — 
the  whole  framing  into  a  harmonious  combination  of 
the  most  ravishing  music,  which  heightened  itself  at 
moments  until  the  verv  bounds  of  ecstasv  were 
reached.  Similia  similibus  curantur.  Then  would 
the  harpers  change  their  key,  and  with  one  grand 
sweep  of  cunning  string  whirl  back  the  heart  and 
brain  to  soberer  mood — fit  prelude,  as  they  well  knew, 
to  an  impassioned  outburst  of  chorus  harp-music, 
wild  in  its  flights,  surpassing  in  its  transporting  de- 
lights, and  so  thrilling  that  King,  Baron,  and  noble 
rose  to  their  feet,  fired  with  the  enthusiasm  that  had 
grown  within  them.  Such  spontaneous  outbursts  of 
natural,  unrestrained  musical  passions  were  not  in- 
frequent among  the  harpers  when  banded  together, 
who  seemed  moved  by  a  common  sympathy  to  float 
their  vast  harmony  upon  the  wind's  wings,  and 
preferably  in  the  full  chorus  form  described. 

As  if  by  right,  and  fully  deserving  enduring  fame, 
the  names  of  not  a  few  of  these  harper-singers — 
musical  minds  who  constituted  so  picturesque  a 
feature  in  a  particularly  stern  period  in  our  country's 


236  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

history — have  come  down  to  us.  There  were  North- 
folke  and  Carleton,  Lambyn  Clay,  Fairfax — a  name 
that  appears  again  among  fifteenth-century  musicians 
— Merlin  and  Richard  Wheatacre  ;  then  we  meet 
with  Richard  de  Haleford,  Adam  de  Werintone, 
Adam  de  Grimmeshawe,  Hanecocke  de  Blithe — 
musical  celebrities  with  surnames  weaved,  after 
Norman  fashion,  from  the  localities  in  which  they 
resided.  Sometimes  only  the  Christian  name  of  the 
harpers  is  given  in  these  old  records,  thus  :  Lawrence, 
Matthew,  Richard,  John  and  Geoffrey  ;  while  other 
peculiarities  of  their  enumeration  are  such  suffixes 
as  Guillaume  'sans  maniere,'  Reginald  '  le  menteur,' 
or  '  Perle  in  the  Eghe,'  '  Makejoy,'  etc.  Occa- 
sionally an  unmistakable  distinction  of  locality  is 
recorded — like  John  '  de  Salopia,'  Robert '  de  Scarde- 
burghe,'  and  Robert  '  de  Colecestria,'  and  sometimes 
the  minstrel  is  identified  by  reference  to  his  patron, 
as  '  harper  of  the  Bishop  of  Durham,'  '  Abbot  of 
Abyngdon,'  'Earl  of  Warrene,'  etc. 

Wages  in  those  days  constituted  a  not  less  im- 
portant matter  probably  than  they  do  now.  Certainly 
the  entries  of  disbursements  and  receipts  tend  to 
Minstrels'  Prove  this.  Original  records,  such  as  the 
Payments.  Wardrobe  Books,  showing  the  Royal 
Household  expenses,  preserved  in  the  custody  of 
the  Queen's  Remembrancer,  furnish,  happily, 
abundant  information  on  this  point.  When,  for 
instance,  King  Edward  I.  held  his  cour  pleniere  at 
the  Feast  of  Whitsuntide,  1306  A.D.,  to  confer  the 


SOME  MIXSTRELS'  PAYMENTS  237 

honour  of  knighthood  upon  his  son.  Prince  Edward, 
and  several  young  nobles,  there  were  present  six 
kings  of  the  minstrels,  viz.,  Le  Roy  de  Champaigne, 
Le  Roy  Caupenny,  Le  Roy  Boisescue,  Le  Roy 
Marchis,  Le  Roy  Robert,  and  Le  Roy  Druet.  The 
first  five  received  each  a  sum  equivalent  in  present- 
day  money  to  £50,  while  Le  Roy  Druet  was  paid 
^30.  The  list  of  money  states  that  five  marks,  or 
£3  6s.  8d.  (the  mark  being  13s.  4d.),  was  the  sum 
paid  to  each  chief  minstrel. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  Queen 
Eleanor's  daughter  Margaret,  the  bridegroom 
gave,  very  generously,  the  sum  of  £100  to  be 
distributed  amongst  the  426  minstrels  present. 
This  pleasant  task  was  willingly  undertaken  by 
Walter  de  Storton,  and  each  musician  received  the 
substantial  sum  of  £3  10s.  4d.  for  his  services  at  the 
wedding  festivities.  Altogether  some  ^"200,  or 
,£3,000  of  our  money,  was  expended  upon  the  music 
at  this  brilliant  social  function.  One  shilling  in 
those  days  is  computed  to  have  been  worth  fifteen 
shillings  at  the  present  time.  A  simple  calculation 
will  show,  therefore,  that  a  liberal  estimate  was  then 
put  upon  the  musician  and  his  art  that  would  do 
infinite  credit  to  many  who  find  themselves  in  quest 
of  '  a  little  music  '  nowadays,  especially  to  that  class  of 
really  well-to-do  people  who,  wittingly  or  unwittingly, 
act  towards  the  musician  as  if  his  only  care  was  to 
air  himself  and  his  art,  untroubled  and  unconcerned 
with  such  mundane  matters  as  flour  and  firewood. 


238 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Another  excellent  method  that  appears  to  have 
obtained  with  patron  and  minstrel  was  one  which, 
probably,  set  that  fashion  which  is  not  altogether 
effaced  yet  awhile.  Not  content  with  paying 
the  minstrel  -  labourer  the  worth  of  his  hire,  the 
appreciative  patron  went  to  the  expense  of  obtaining 
some  enduring  token  which  he  could  bestow  upon  a 
favourite  performer.  We  learn  this  from  an  entry 
that  occurs  in  the  accounts  of  the  executors  of  Queen 
Eleanor  (1291  A.D.).  It  is  a  record  of  a  disburse- 
ment of  thirty-nine  shil- 
lings for  a  cup,  purchased 
for  presentation  to  a  dis- 
tinguished performer 
among  the  King's  min- 
strels. 

Passing  from  Edward's 
reign  to  that  of  his  son, 
Edward  II.  (1307- 132 7 
a.d.),  we  find  unusual 
attention  and  considera- 
tion being  bestowed  upon 
In  the  year  1309  a.d.,  at 
the  feast  of  the  installation  of  Ralph,  Abbot  of 
St.  Augustine's,  Canterbury,  seventy  shillings  (or 
,£52  1  os.)  was  expended  on  the  minstrels  who 
accompanied  their  songs  with  the  harp.  That 
excellent  method,  indicated  by  the  word  'grant,'  or 
gift — the  absence  of  which  on  a  national  scale  has 
so  impeded  the  legitimate  advancement  of  modern 


suatg  •■ 


EDWARD    II. 


the  minstrel  and  his  art. 


DRESS  OF  MINSTRELS  239 


musical    England — comes  conspicuously   before   us. 

These  grants  occasionally  took  the  sensible  shape  of 

real  estate,  and  not  improperly  and  without  doubt 

not    undeservedly,    the   native    musician    was    often 

singled  out  for  this  favour.     Thus,  Le  Roy  Robert, 

who  was  the  English  King  of  the  Minstrels,  figures 

as   the  recipient  of  many  money   grants,   while    to 

'  Roy   de   North,'  the    King's   minstrel,   whose   real 

name  appears  to  have  been   William  de   Morlee — 

Morley  is  a  name  that  afterwards  becomes  famous 

amongst     Elizabethan    composers  —  are    conveyed 

several  houses  that  once  had  belonged  to  John   le 

Boteler,  surnamed  Roy  Brunhaud. 

Nor    were    those    who    had    the    welfare    of    the 

minstrels  at  heart  unmindful  of  their  exterior.     These 

providers  of  music  for  indoors  and  outdoors  were 

_  clothed  as  well  as  fed — wearing,  indeed, 

The  ,  . 

Minstrels'    a  special  and  costly  attire  of  velvet,  satin, 
Dress. 

silk,    and    furs    of   ermine.      Besides    the 

large  sums  of  money  which  were  paid  them  by  the 
nobles,  the  minstrels  received  gratuitously  these 
expensive  habiliments.  Froissart  (1337-1410),  speak- 
ing in  his  '  Chronicles  '  of  the  condition  and  magni- 
ficence of  the  Count  de  Foix,  states  that  on  one 
Christmas  Day  at  his  Court  there  were  seated  at 
the  table  four  Bishops,  Viscounts,  knights,  and  his 
own  kinsmen.  In  the  hall  were  many  minstrels, 
'  as  well  those  belonging  to  the  Count  as  to  the 
strangers  who  were  present.     This  day  the  Count 


240 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


•    '        „™'n»;''"''""A"Huui^'*-4-  iiiu  ■ 


<* mil!1'1-  »i." mi-  )'  .     .  ■*  •-  -• 


MINSTRELS'   PILLAR,   ST.    MARY'S   CHURCH,    BEVERLEY. 
[Photograph  by  Messrs.  F.  Frith  and  Co.,  Reigate.) 


MINSTRELS'  DRESS  24  r 


gave  to  the  minstrels  and  heralds  500  francs  among 
them  ;  he  also  clothed  the  minstrels  of  the  Duke  of 
Torraine  with  cloth  of  gold  trimmed  with  ermine  ; 
the  dresses  were  valued  at  200  francs.' 

The  Earl  of  Lancaster  in  Edward  II. 's  time  used 
to  expend  much  money  on  the  liveries  of  his 
minstrels.  The  representations  on  a  column  and 
arcade  in  Beverley  Minster  indicate  the  style  of  the 
minstrels'  dress.  When  walking  or  travelling  in  the 
open  air  they  slung  their  instruments — which  were 
light— over  their  shoulders,  suspended  by  a  silken 
tape  or  cord,  and  so  protected  the  harp  and 
crwth  from  unfavourable  weather  or  undue  gaze 
under  the  customary  loose  outer  cloak  or  surtout. 
They  had  piked  boots  or  shoes,  which,  on  special 
occasions,  were  tied  to  the  knees  with  chains  of  silver. 
That  it  was  a  characteristic  costume  consistent  with 
the  grace  and  beauty  of  the  art  of  which  they  were 
the  exponents  is  probable,  while  it  is  certain  that, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  costumes  of  the  period,  it 
was  as  picturesque  as  it  was  conspicuous. 

Trokelowe,*  the  chronicler,  gives  us  a  curious 
passage  relating  to  minstrels,  which  shows  that 
women  even  were  not  denied  the  order  : 

'When  Edward  II.  this  year  (1306)  solemnized 
the    Feast    of   Pentecost,  and    sat  at    table    in    the 

*  Trokelowe  (John  of)  was  a  monk  of  Tynemouth,  who  died 
about  1343.  He  continued  the  Chronicle  of  Rishanger.  His 
Annals  extend  from  1307  to  1323. 

16 


242  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

great  Hall  of  Westminster,  attended  by  the  peers 
of  the  realm,  a  certain  woman,  dressed  in  the 
habit  of  a  minstrel,  riding  on  a  great  horse,  trapped 
in  the  minstrel  fashion,  entered  the  hall,  and  going 
round  the  several  tables,  acting  the  part  of  a 
minstrel,  at  length  mounted  the  steps  to  the  Royal 
table,  on  which  she  deposited  a  letter.  Having 
done  this,  she  turned  her  horse,  and,  saluting  all  the 
company,  she  departed.  When  the  letter  was  read, 
it  was  found  to  contain  certain  animadversions  on 
the  King's  conduct,  at  which  he  was  greatly 
offended.  The  door  -  keepers  being  called  and 
threatened  for  admitting  such  a  woman,  readily 
replied  that  it  never  was  the  custom  of  the  King's 
palace  to  deny  admission  to  minstrels,  especially 
on  such  high  solemnities  and  feast  days.' 

That  the  dress  of  the  minstrels  was  of  a  superior 
class  is  all  but  established  by  a  reference  to  the 
subject  in  a  poem  treating  of  the  period  of 
Edward  II.,  and  cited  by  Stowe  (1523- 1603). 
Therein  knights  of  the  day  are  warned  to  adhere 
to  their  proper  costume,  lest  they  be  mistaken  for 
minstrels.  If  the  clothes  worn  by  each  order  of 
society  would  tend  to  such  a  misapprehension,  they 
must  have  been  similar  in  cut  and  texture,  unless, 
indeed,  the  nobles,  emulating"  the  minstrels,  discarded 
their  own  apparel,  and  adopted  that  in  the  style  of 
the  musicians. 

Here  is  the  allusion  : 


MUSICAL  SCULPTURE :     WELLS  243 


'  Knytes  schuld  weare  clothes 
I-schape  in  dewe  manere, 
As  his  order  wold  aske, 
As  well  as  schuld  a  frere* 
Now  thei  beth  disgysed, 
So  diverselych  i-digt,t 
That  no  man  may  knowe 
A  minstrel  from  a  knygt 

Well  ny 
So  is  mekenes  fait  adown 
And  pryde  aryse  an  hye.' 

The  minstrels  were  not  music-makers  only.  They 
appear  to  have  been  artists  to  their  finger-tips,  and 
their  language  seemingly  found  vent  and  expression 
not  in  string  and  tone  only,  but  even  in  stone.  If 
minstrels  were  not  the  actual  craftsmen,  and  only  the 
donors,  then  there  must  have  been  the  soul  of  music, 
and  great  veneration  for  the  art  in  the  hearts  of  our 
nameless  and  forgotten  countrymen  who  sculptured 
such  wondrous  and  almost  incomparable  work  as 
the  west  front  of  Wells  Cathedral  (1230- 1235 
A.D.),  wherein  the  workers  introduced,  in  almost 
speaking  stone,  the  angels  chanting  the  Gloria  in 
Excelsis. 

In  thirty-two  quatrefoils  are  angels  in  descent, 
variously  disposed,  chanting  Gloria  in  Excelsis. 
They  hold  in  their  hands  mitres,  crowns,  and  scrolls 
— emblems  of  temporal  and  eternal  rewards  to  those 
who  listen  faithfully  to  their  message  of  salvation.} 

*  Friar.  t  Bedight. 

+  Bishop    Ralph   dc  Salopia  founded  the   College   of  Vicars 
Choral,  or  Singing    Men,  in  the  year   1329,  and  endowed  the 


244  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Time  has  effaced  the  workmanship,  but  enough 
remains  to  speak  the  soul  of  the  workers.  Crom- 
well's forces  greatly  damaged  the  carvings. 

Again,  if  an  actual  example  of  masonic  musical 
work  is  demanded,  that  exquisite  example  in  Beverley 
Minster  already  referred  to  well  attests  it. 

Chappell,  in  his  remarks  on  English  minstrelsy, 
thus  describes  the  Beverley  Minster  pillar  :  '  Five 
men  are  thereon  represented,  four  in  short  coats, 
reaching  to  the  knee,  and  one  with  an  overcoat, 
all  having  chains  round  their  necks  and  toler- 
ably large  purses.  The  building  is  assigned  to  the 
reign  of  Henry  VI.,  when  minstrelsy  had  greatly 
declined,  and  it  cannot  therefore  be  considered  as 
representing  minstrels  in  the  height  of  their  pros- 
perity. 

They  are  probably  only  instrumental  performers 
(with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  luteplayer)  ; 
but  as  one  holds  a  pipe  and  a  tabor,  used  only 
for   rustic  dances,   another  a  crowd   or  treble  viol, 


singers  with  the  manor  of  Welleslegh  and  other  estates.  By  his 
will  he  gave  them  20  quarters  of  wheat,  20  quarters  of  barley,  20 
quarters  of  oats,  10  oxen,  10  cows,  and  100  sheep.  He  also  gave 
the  choristers  (boys)  10  quarters  of  wheat,  2  oxen,  2  cows,  and  20 
sheep,  besides  which  he  built  a  house  for  the  residence  of  them- 
selves and  their  master  on  the  west  side  of  the  cloisters. 
Founder's  Day  is  still  kept  up.  On  November  8  every  year,  the 
priest-vicars,  vicars-choral,  and  choristers  repair  to  the  vicar's 
chapel,  and  there  hold  a  service  in  commemoration  of  Bishop 
Ralph  de  Salopia. 


MINSTRELS'  PILLAR  245 


a  third  what  appears  to  be  a  bass  flute,  and  a 
fourth  either  a  treble  flute,  or  perhaps  that  kind  of 
hautboy  called  a  wayght,  or  wait,  and  there  is  no 
harper  among  them,  I  do  not  suppose  any  to  have 
been  of  that  class  called  minstrels  of  honour,  who 
rode  on  horseback,  with  their  servants  to  attend 
them,  and  who  could  enter  freely  into  a  king's  palace. 
Such  distinctions  among  minstrels  are  frequently 
drawn  in  the  old  romances.  For  instance,  in  the 
romance  of  Launfel  we  are  told,  "  They  had  men- 
stralles  of  moche  honours,"  and  also  that  they  had 
"  Fydelers,  sytolyrs  (citolers),  and  trompoteres."  It 
is  not,  however,  surprising  that  they  should  be  rich 
enough  to  build  a  column  of  a  minster,  considering 
the  excessive  devotion  to,  and  encouragement  of, 
music  which  characterized  the  English  in  that  and 
the  two  following  centuries.' 

But  a  still  more  important  example  of  stone 
carving  bearing  upon  native  music  is  to  be  seen  in 
St.  Mary's  Church,  Beverley.  This  is  where  the 
best  minstrels'  pillar  stands,  though  all  authorities 
that  have  come  under  my  notice  have  either  noticed 
only  the  Beverley  Minster  pillar,  or  mixed  up  the 
two. 

The  pillar  in  St.  Mary's  Church  is  the  eastern- 
most pillar  of  the  nave  on  the  north  side.  Its  history 
is  somewhat  as  follows  : 

4  In  1520  the  central  towers  of  the  church  fell,  and 
destroyed  a  great  part  of  the  nave,  especially  the 


246  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


north  aisle.  The  restoration  of  this  was  effected  by 
various  voluntary  offerings.  All  the  corbels  of  the 
pillars  which  now  support  the  nave  bear  inscriptions 
recording  the  names  of  those  who  gave  to  the  re- 
building. Thus  on  the  two  westernmost  pillars  we 
read,  "  Klay  and  his  wife  made  these  two  pillars  and 
a  half."  On  the  fourth  and  fifth  pillars,  "These 
two  pillars  made  good  wives."  On  the  sixth — "  the 
minstrels'  pillar" — "  This  pillar  made  the  minstrels." 
Just  below  the  capital,  on  a  series  of  small  brackets 
on  the  shaft  of  the  pillar,  are  sculptured  and  still 
dimly-coloured  figures  of  five  minstrels.  And  it  is 
supposed  that  they  represent  members  of  a  certain 
guild  or  fraternity  of  minstrels  or  gleemen  which 
flourished  in  Beverley.' 

The  inscription,  in  the  writing  of  the  period, 
seems  to  signify  that  the  column  was  made  by  the 
minstrels,  just  as  a  poesy  more  distinctly  expressed 
on  a  modern  bell  might  run,  '  Taylor  of  Lough- 
borough made  me.' 

Another  ancient  and    curious,   though   barbarous 

privilege  in  favour  of  English  minstrels,  which  should 

be  mentioned,  was  granted  by  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke 

of  Lancaster,  from  his  Castle  of  Tutbury  in 

Tutbury    the  year    1381    a.d.       The  occasion    was 

the  inauguration  of  the  first  English  King 

of  the  Minstrels.      '  During  the  time  of  which  ancient 

Earls  and  Dukes  of  Lancaster,  who  were  ever  of  the 

blood  Royal,  great  men  in  their  time,  and  had  their 


A   TUTBURY  CUSTOM  247 

abode,  and   kept  a  liberal  hospitality  here  at  their 
house  of  Tutbury,  there  could  not  but  be  a  great 
c<  mcourse  of  people  from  all  parts  hither  ;  for  whose 
diversion  all  sorts  of  musicians  were  permitted  like- 
wise to  come  to  pay  their  services  ;  amongst  whom, 
being  numerous,  some  quarrels  and   disorders  now 
and   then   arising,    it   was   found   necessary,   after  a 
while,   they  should  be  brought  under  rules,    divers 
laws  being  made  for  the  better  regulating  of  them, 
and  a  governor  appointed  them  by  the  name  of  a 
King,  who  had  several  officers  under  him,  to  see  the 
execution   of  those  laws,  full   power  being  granted 
them   to  apprehend  and  correct  any  such  minstrels 
appertaining  to  the  said  Honour,  as  should  refuse  to 
do  their  services  in  due   manner,  and  to  constrain 
them  to  do  them  ;  as  appears  by  the  charter  granted 
to  the  said  King  of  the  Minstrels  by  John  of  Gaunt, 
King  of  Castile  and  Leon,  and  Duke  of  Lancaster, 
bearing  date  the  22nd  of  August  in  the  fourth  year 
of  the  reign  of  King  Richard  the  Second,  entitled 
the   "Carta   le   Roy  dc   Minstralce";    which   being 
written    in    old   French    I 
have    translated,   and    an- 
nexed it  to  this  discourse, 
for     the     more     universal 

....  .  THIRTEENTH-CENTURY   LUTE. 

notoriety  of  the  thing,  and 

for  satisfaction  how  the  power  of  the  King  of  the 
Minstrels  and  his  officers  is  founded,  which  take  as 
follows  : 


248  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

'  "  John,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  King  of  Castile  and 

Leon,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  to  all  them  who  shall  see, 

or  hear  these  our  letters,  greeting — Know  ye,  we 

,   have  ordained,   constituted,   and   assigned 
John  of  .  . 

Gaunt's  to  our  well-beloved  the  King  of  the  Min- 
Charter.  ,  T,  r  ^     .  , 

strels,  in  our  Honour  of    1  utbury,  who  is, 

or  for  the  time  shall  be,  to  apprehend  and  correct 
all  the  minstrels  in  our  said  honour  and  franchise, 
that  refuse  to  do  the  services  and  minstrelsy,  as 
appertain  to  them  to  do  from  ancient  times,  at 
Tutbury  aforesaid,  yearly,  on  the  clays  of  the 
Assumption  of  our  Lady,  giving  and  granting  to 
the  said  King  of  the  Minstrels  for  the  time  being 
full  power  and  commandment  to  make  them  reason- 
ably to  justify  and  to  restrain  them  to  do  their  ser- 
vices and  minstrelsies  in  manner  as  belono-eth  to 
them,  and  as  it  hath  been  there,  and  of  ancient  times 
accustomed.  In  witness  of  which  thing  we  have 
caused  these  our  letters  to  be  made  patent.  Given 
under  our  privy  seal,  at  our  Castle  of  Tutbury,  the 
22nd  day  of  August,  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign 
of  the  most  sweet  King  Richard  the  Second." 

'  Upon  this,  in  process  of  time,  the  defaulters  being 
many,  and  the  amercements  by  the  officers  perhaps 
not  sometimes  over-reasonable,  concerning  which 
and  other  matters  controversies  frequently  arising, 
it  was  at  last  found  necessary  that  a  Court  should  be 
erected  to  hear  plaints,  and  determine  controversies 
between  party  and  party,  before  the  steward  of  the 


B  I'LL  SER  VICE  :    T UTB  UR  Y  249 

Honour,  which  is  held  there  to  this  day,  on  the 
morrow  after  the  Assumption,  being  the  16th  day  of 
August ;  on  which  day,  they  now  also  do  all  the 
services  mentioned  in  the  above  said  grant,  and 
have  the  bull,  due  to  them  anciently  from  the  Prior 
of  Tutbury,  now  from  the  Earl  of  Devon  ;  whereas 
they  had  it  formerly  in  the  Assumption  of  our  Lady, 
as  appears  by  an  "  Inspeximus"  of  King  Henry  the 
Sixth,  relating-  to  the  customs  of  Tutbury  ;  where 
amongst  others,  this  of  the  bull  is  mentioned  in  these 
words  :   "  That  there  is  a  certain  custom  belonoino- 

O         O 

to  the  Honour  of  Tutbury  that  the  minstrels,  who 
come  to  Matins  there  on  the  Feast  of  the  Assump- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  shall  have  a  bull  given 
them  by  the  Prior  of  Tutbury,  if  they  can  take  him 
on  this  side  of  the  river  Dove,  which  is  next  Tut- 
bury ;  or  else  the  Prior  shall  give  them  4od.,  for  the 
enjoyment  of  which  custom  they  shall  give  to  the 
lord,  at  the  said  feast,  2od." 

'  Thus,  I  say,  the  services  of  the  minstrels  were 
performed,  and  privileges  of  the  bull  enjoyed  an- 
ciently on  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption  ;  but  now 
they  are  done  and  had  in  the  manner  following : 
On  the  Court  day,  or  morrow  of  the  Assumption, 
being  the  16th  of  August,  what  time  all  the  minstrels 
w  ithin  the  Honour  come  first  to  the  bailiffs  house  of 
the  Manor  of  Tutbury  (who  is  now  the  Earl  of 
Devonshire),  where  the  steward  for  the  Court  to  be 
holden  for  the  King,  as  Duke  of  Lancaster  (who  is 


250  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

now  the  Duke  of  Ormond),  or  his  deputy,  meeting 
them,  they  all  go  from  thence  to  the  parish  church 
of  Tutbury,  two  and  two  together,  music  playing 
before  them,  the  King  of  the  Minstrels  for  the  year 
past  walking  between  the  steward  and  the  bailiff, 
or  their  deputies,  the  four  stewards,  or  under 
officers  of  the  said  King  of  the  Minstrels,  each  with 
a  white  wand  in  their  hands,  immediately  following 
them,  and  then  the  rest  of  the  company  in  order. 
Being  come  to  the  church,  the  Vicar  reads  them 
divine  service,  choosing  Psalms  and  Lessons  suitable 
to  the  occasion.  The  Psalms  when  I  was  there, 
(1680)  being  the  98th,  149th  and  150th;  the  first 
lesson  Chronicles  ii.  5,  and  the  second,  the  fifth 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  to  the  22nd 
verse.  For  which  services,  every  minstrel  offered 
one  penny,  as  a  due  always  paid  to  the  Vicar  of  the 
Church  of  Tutbury  upon  this  solemnity. 

'  Service  being  ended,  they  proceed  in  like  manner 
from  the  Church  to  the  Castle-hall  or  Court,  where 
the  steward,  or  his  deputy,  taketh  his  place,  assisted 
by  the  bailiff,  or  his  deputy,  the  King  of  the  Min- 
strels sitting  between  them  ;  who  is  to  oversee  that 
every  minstrel,  dwelling  within  the  Honour  and 
making  default,  shall  be  presented  and  amerced  ; 
which  that  he  may  the  better  do,  an  O  !  Yes  !  is 
then  made  by  one  of  the  officers,  being  a  minstrel, 
three  times,  giving  notice  by  direction  from  the 
steward  to  all  manner  of  minstrels,  dwelling  within 


STEWARD'S  CHARGE:    TUTBURY 


W 


the  Honour  of  Tutbury,  viz.,  within  the  counties 
of  Stafford,  Derby,  Nottingham,  Leicester  and 
Warwick,  owing  suit  and  service  to  his  Majesty's 
Court  of  Music  here  holden  as 
this  day,  that  every  man  draw 
near  and  give  his  attendance,  upon 
pain  and  peril  that  may  otherwise 
ensue  ;  and  that  if  any  man  shall 
be  essoigned  of  suit,  or  plea,  he 
or  they  should  come  in,  and  they 
should  be  heard.  Then  all  the 
musicians,  being  called  over  by  a 
court-roll,  two  juries  are  impan- 
elled, out  of  twenty-four  of  the 
sufficientest  of  them,  twelve  for 
Staffordshire,  and  twelve  for  the 
other  counties ;  whose  names 
being  delivered  in  Court  to  the 
steward,  and  called  over,  and  appearing  to  be  full 
juries,  the  foreman  of  each  is  sworn,  and  then  the 
residue,  as  is  usual  in  other  courts,  upon  the  Holy 
Evangelists. 

1  Then  to  move  them  the  better  to  mind  their 
duties  to  the  King,  and  their  own  good,  the  steward 
proceeds  to  give  them  their  charge  ;  first  commend- 
ing to  their  consideration  the  original  of  all  music, 
both  wind  and  string  music,  the  antiquity  and  ex- 
cellence of  both,  setting  forth  the  force  of  it  upon 
the  affections  by  divers  examples.      How  the  use  of 


A    MINSTREL. 

(From  the  Arundel  MSS.) 


252  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

it  has  always  been  allowed  (as  is  plain  from  Holy 
Writ)  in  praising  and  glorifying  God  ;  and  the  skill 
in  it  always  esteemed  so  considerable,  that  it  is  still 
accounted  in  the  schools  one  of  the  liberal  arts,  and 
allowed  in  all  Godly  Christian  Commonwealths  ; 
where,  by  the  way,  he  commonly  takes  notice  of  the 
statute,  which  reckons  some  musicians  among-  rogues 
and  vagabonds,  giving  them  to  understand  that 
such  societies  as  theirs,  thus  legally  founded  and 
governed  by  laws,  are  by  no  means  intended  by  that 
statute  ;  for  which  reason,  the  minstrels  belonging 
to  the  Manor  of  Dutton,  in  the  County  Palatine  of 
Cheshire,  are  expressly  excepted  in  that  Act.  Ex- 
horting them  upon  this  account  to  preserve  their 
reputation,  to  be  very  careful  to  make  choice  of  such 
men  to  be  officers  amongst  them  as  fear  God,  are 
of  good  life  and  conversation,  and  have  knowledge 
and  skill  in  the  practice  of  their  art.  Which  charge 
being  ended,  the  jurors  proceed  to  the  election  of 
the  said  officers,  the  King  having  to  be  chosen  out 
of  the  four  stewards  of  the  preceding  year,  and  one 
year  out  of  Staffordshire,  and  two  out  of  Derby- 
shire ;  three  being  chosen  by  the  jurors,  and  the 
fourth  by  him  that  keeps  the  Court,  and  the  deputy 
steward,  or  clerk. 

'  The  jurors  departing  the  Court  for  this  purpose, 
leave  the  stewards  with  their  associates  still  in  their 
places,  who  in  the  meantime  make  themselves  merry 
with  a  banquet,  and  a  noise  of  musicians  playing  to 


THE  ELECTION  :    TUTBURY  253 

them,  the  old  King  still  sitting  between  the  steward 
and  the  bailiff  as  before  ;  but  returning  again,  after 
a  competent  time,  they  present  first  their  chiefest 
officer  by  the  name  of  their  King  ;  then  the  old  King, 
arising  from  his  place,  delivered!  him  a  little  white 
wand  in  token  of  his  sovereignty,  and  then,  taking 
a  cup  filled  with  wine,  drinketh  to  him,  wishing  him 
all  joy  and  prosperity  in  his  office.  In  the  like 
manner  do  the  old  stewards  to  the  new  ;  and  then 
the  old  King  riseth,  and  the  new  taketh  his  place  ; 
and  so  do  the  new  stewards  of  the  old,  who  have 
full  power  and  authority,  by  virtue  of  the  King's 
steward's  warrant,  directed  from  the  said  Court,  to 
levy  and  distrain  in  any  city,  town  corporate,  or  in 
any  place  within  the  King's  dominions,  all  such  fines 
and  amercements  as  are  inflicted  by  the  said  juries 
that  day  upon  any  minstrel,  for  his  or  their  offences 
committed  in  the  breach  of  any  of  their  ancient 
orders,  made  for  the  good  rule  and  government  of 
the  said  society.  For  which  said  fines  and  amerce- 
ments so  distrained,  or  otherwise  peaceably  collected, 
the  said  stewards  are  accountable  at  every  audit ; 
one  moiety  of  them  going  to  the  King's  Majesty,  and 
the  other  the  said  stewards  have  for  their  own  use. 

'  The  election,  etc.,  being  thus  concluded,  the 
Court  riseth,  and  all  persons  then  repair  to  another 
fair  room  within  the  castle,  where  a  plentiful  dinner 
is  provided  for  them  ;  which  being  ended,  the 
minstrels  went  anciently  to  the  Abbey-gate,  now  to 


254  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

a  little  barn  by  the  town-side,  in  acceptance  of  the 
bull  to  be  turned  forth  to  them,  which  was  formerly 
done  (according  to  the  custom  above  mentioned)  by 
the  Prior  of  Tutbury,  now  by  the  Earl  of  Devon- 
shire ;  which  bull,  as  soon  as  his  horns  are  cut  off, 
his  ears  cropt,  his  tail  cut  by  the  stumple,  all  his 
body  smeared  over  with  soap,  and  his  nose  blown 
full  of  beaten  pepper  ;  in  short,  being  made  as  mad 
as  it  is  possible  for  him  to  be,  is  let  loose.  After 
solemn  proclamation  made  by  the  steward,  that  all 
manner  of  persons  give  way  to  the  bull,  none  being 
to  come  near  him  by  forty  feet,  any  way  to  hinder 
the  minstrels,  but  to  attend  his  or  their  own  safeties, 
every  one  at  his  own  peril.  He  is  then  forthwith 
turned  out  to  them,  anciently  by  the  Prior,  now  by 
the  Lord  Devonshire,  or  his  deputy,  to  be  taken  by 
them  and  none  others,  within  the  County  of  Stafford, 
between  the  time  of  his  being  turned  out  to  them, 
and  the  setting  of  the  sun  the  same  day  ;  which  if 
they  cannot  do,  but  the  bull  escapes  from  them 
untaken,  and  gets  over  the  river  into  Derbyshire,  he 
remains  still  my  Lord  Devonshire's  bull  ;  but  if  the 
said  minstrels  can  take  him,  and  hold  him  so  long 
as  to  cut  off  but  some  small  matter  of  his  hair,  and 
bring  the  same  to  the  Mercat  Cross,  in  token  they 
have  taken  him,  the  said  bull  is  then  brought  to  the 
bailiff's  house  in  Tutbury,  and  there  collared  and 
roped,  and  so  brought  to  the  bull-ring  in  the  High 
Street,  and  there  baited  with  dogs.    The  first  course 


DECLINE  OF  MINSTRELSY  255 

being  allotted  for  the  King-,  the  second  for  the 
honour  of  the  town,  and  the  third  for  the  Kino-  of 
the  Minstrels ;  which,  after  it  is  done,  the  said 
minstrels  are  to  have  him  for  their  own,  and  may 
sell,  or  kill,  and  divide  him  amongst  them,  according 
as  they  shall  think  good. 

'  And  thus  this  rustic  sport,  which  they  call  the 
bull-running,  should  be  annually  performed  by  the 
minstrels  only  ;  but,  now-a-days,  they  are  assisted 
by  the  promiscuous  multitude,  that  flock  hither  in 
great  numbers,  and  are  much  pleased  with  it,  though 
sometimes,  through  the  emulation  in  point  of  man- 
hood that  has  been  long  cherished  between  the 
Staffordshire  and  Derbyshire  men,  perhaps  as  much 
mischief  may  have  been  done  in  the  trial  between 
them  as  in  the  Jeu  de  Taureau,  or  Bull-fighting, 
practised  at  Valentia,  Madrid,  and  other  places  in 
Spain  ;  whence,  perhaps,  this  custom  of  bull-running 
might  be  derived,  and  set  up  here  by  John  of  Gaunt, 
who  was  King  of  Castile  and  Leon,  and  Lord  of  the 
Honour  of  Tutbury.'* 

But  minstrelsy  in  England,  like  most  other  things, 

had  its  fluctuating  periods.     For  long  it  was  held  in 

the  highest  possible  esteem,  and  was,  indeed,  favoured 

Decline      ^>r  high  and  low  alike.    At  one  time  there 

of  seemed    to   be   no    prospect    of  its    ever 

Minstrelsy.  .  L 

waning.      It  was  at  once  the  schoolmaster 

and  newspaper  of  the  people,  for  most  of  the  learn- 
*  Plott,  'History  of  Staffordshire,'  cap.  x.,  sect.  69. 


256  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

ing  that  was  acquired  outside  the  Church  came  from 
the  minstrel  narrator,  while  he  was  also  the  mouth- 
piece of  all  matters  and  occurrences  in  the  outside 
world.  Then  he  carried  messages  from  land  to 
land,  from  master  to  mistress,  from  swain  to  lover — 
messages  not  concealed  and  circumscribed  by  the 
remorseless  machinery  of  a  Government  Post-Office, 
but  intelligence  conveyed  by  word  of  mouth,  and 
often  in  instrumentally-accompanied  song ;  messages 
varied,  embellished,  and  expanded  according  to 
the  issue  and  sympathies  which  they  were  intended 
to  prompt.  Thus  was  the  minstrel  a  responsible 
public  servant,  with  the  affairs  of  the  King  and  the 
peasant  in  his  hands,  and  able,  if  so  minded,  by  a 
word  or  inflexion  to  defeat  or  to  gain  any  end 
desired. 

Little  wonder  that  he  was  feasted  and  fed,  and 
escorted  to  a  high  place  at  the  banquet ;  and  none 
less  surprising  is  it  that  his  trained  eyes,  to  the 
discomfort  of  some  far-off  lover,  caught  betimes  the 
nervous  maiden's  with  mutual  consent  long  ere  the 
rightful  lover's  tale  had  passed  the  messenger's 
fervid  lips. 

Music  from  remote  antiquity  has  proved  a  sure 
aid  in  capturing  many  hearts,  and  to  sing  or  to 
harp  has  ever  been  a  necessary  requisite  in  the 
character  of  a  perfect  prince  or  a  complete  hero. 
During  the  early  periods  of  music  in  every  country, 
the  wonder  and  affections  of  the  people  have  been 


CAUSES  OF  DECLINE  257 

gained  by  surprise  at  its  charms.  It  was  so  in 
England  with  the  minstrels  ;  but  as  in  the  course 
of  generations  these  became  numerous,  and  the  art 
and  accomplishment  less  surprising,  they  began  to  be 
lightly  regarded  and  appreciated,  and  to  lose  favour. 
From  this  and  other  causes,  the  minstrel  slowly 
declined  in  public  and  private  estimation,  and  from 
being  seated  at  the  tables  of  kings,  and  helped  to 
the  first  'cut,'  they  were  eventually  reduced  to  the 
most  abject  state,  and  ranked  among  rogues  and 
vagabonds.  Quite  an  analogy  with  the  ancient 
Greeks.  Their  first  musicians,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, were  gods  ;  the  second,  heroes  ;  the  third, 
bards  ;  the  fourth,  beggars  ! 

Perhaps  the  chief  contributory  cause  of  the  fall 
and  ultimate  banishment  of  the  minstrel  orders 
socially  and  morally  arose  from  among  themselves 
more  than  from  elsewhere,  or  from  any  such  cause 
as  a  new  education,  or  an  outburst  of  controlled 
musical  method  and  fashion.  The  downfall  might 
have  been  delayed  for  many  years  save  for  the 
Causes  of  pernicious  element  that  gathered  round 
Decline,  minstrels  and  minstrelsy  by  reason  of 
their  very  attractiveness.  '  Familiarity  breeds  con- 
tempt,' and  the  success  attending  the  profession  of 
the  minstrels,  and  the  adulation  and  favours  showered 
upon  them  by  men  and  women  alike  in  every  rank 
of  society,  overcame  the  minstrels.  They  were 
killed    with    kindness,    choked    with    praise.     They 

17 


258  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

became  pampered  and  spoiled  children  of  luxury, 
who,  little  by  little,  took  liberties  with,  and  stole 
upon  the  kindness  and  indulgence  of  their  patrons 
and  patronesses  until,  gradually  losing  all  sense  of 
chivalry,  refinement,  and  delicacy  of  sentiment  they 
eventually  passed  into  a  condition  characterized  by 
licentious  irregularity  and  vices  of  the  worst  kind. 

What  had  occurred  in  the  kingdom  of  Charle- 
magne happened  in  England.  There  the  trouvcres 
had  passed  from  love-ditties  to  songs  of  a  licentious, 
satirical  and  libellous  character,  which  came  to  be 
so  gross  that  proclamations  were  issued  forbidding 
them  to  be  sung,  especially  within  the  precincts  of 
the  churches.  In  great  disgrace  the  English  min- 
strels were  deservedly  allowed  to  remain.  Hence 
the  obloquy  which  for  so  many  years  afterwards 
attended  the  following  of  music  as  a  profession  in 
this  country,  and  which  reputation  only  the  per- 
sistent example  of  musicians  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century  has  permanently  removed. 

The  first  serious  check  which  the  minstrel  orders 

received  was   in  the   reign  of  Edward  II.      In  the 

year  1315  a.d.  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  issue  a 

royal  warrant  for  the  better  regulation  of 
Legislative        ;  a  . 

Minstrel      minstrels.     Their  numbers  had  increased 
so   greatly,  and  their  demands  had  be- 
come  so    alarming,    added   to   which    dissolute  and 
dangerous  people  had  assumed   the  minstrel   char- 
acter, that  the  following  order  was  promulgated  : 


LEGISLATIVE  MINSTREL  CONTROL  259 


'  Edward  by  the  grace  of  God  etc.  to  sheriffes 
etc.,  greeting.  Forasmuch  as  many  idle  persons, 
under  colour  of  minstrelsy,  and  going  in  messages 
and  other  faio-ned  business,  have  been  and  vet  be 
received  in  other  men's  houses  to  meate  and  drynke, 
and  be  not  therewith  contented  yf  they  be  not 
largely  consydered  wyth  gyftes  of  the  lordes  of  the 
houses  etc.  We  wylling  to  restrayne  suche  out- 
rageous enterprises  and  idlenes  &c.  have  ordeyned 
that  to  the  houses  of  prelates,  earles,  and  barons 
none  resort  to  meate  and  drynke,  unlesse  he  be  a 
Mynstrel,  and  of  these  mynstrels  that  there  be  none 
except  it  be  three  or  four  Mynstrels  of  Honour  at 
the  most  in  one  day,  unlesse  he  be  desired  of  the 
lorde  of  the  house.  And  to  the  houses  of  meaner 
men  that  none  come  unlesse  he  be  desired  ;  and  that 
such  as  shall  come  so,  holde  themselves  contented 
with  meate  and  drynke,  and  with  such  curtesie  as 
the  maister  of  the  house  wyl  shewe  unto  them  of  his 
owne  good  wyl,  without  their  askyng  of  any  thyng. 
And  yf  any  one  do  against  this  ordinance,  at  the 
firste  tyme  he  to  lose  his  Minstrelsie,  and  at  the 
seconde  tyme  to  forsweare  his  craft,  and  never  to  be 
receaved  for  a  Minstrel  in  any  house.  Geven  at 
Langley  the  6th  day  of  August  in  the  9th  year  of 
our  raigne.'*     A  very  salutary  order  indeed  ! 

When  we  come  to  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
( 1 558-1603  A.D.),  we  shall  find  that  among  the  other 
*  Leland  Coll.  (Hearne). 


26o  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


wise  acts  of  this  Queen  one  was  intended  to  purge 
the  minstrel  order  of  some  of  the  opprobrium  which 
it  had  no  doubt  deservedly  gained.  This  was  the 
ordering  of  a  commission,  consisting  of  certain  knights 
and  esquires  of  the  Principality,  authorizing  them,  by 
open  proclamation,  to  summon  all  persons  intending 
to  live  '  by  name  or  colour  of  minstrels,  rhythmers  or 
bards.'  There  was  also  a  provision  whereby  such 
as  should  be  found  worthy  to  exercise  the  profession 
of  music  could  be  licensed.  Such  a  step  must  have 
proved  very  beneficial,  as  it  would  have  had  the 
effect  of  ridding  the  ranks  of  incompetent  performers 
and  mere  mountebanks. 

Needless  to  say,  however,  that  a  class  which  had 
grown  into  public  favour,  and  had  won  the  hearts  of 
the  people  so  much  as  had  the  minstrels,  would  not 
be  easily  controlled  ;  also,  whether  they  were  good 
or  bad,  musically  and  morally,  they  were  almost 
the  sole  amusers  and  entertainers  of  the  people. 
Naturally  they  would  die  hard,  whatever  restrictions 
governed  them,  and  this  really  proved  to  be  the 
case. 

The  new  rules  and  regulations  for  minstrels  had 
for  awhile  the  desired  effect,  so  much  so  that  the 
musicians  and  their  art  rose  again  in  the  estimation 
of  the  wealthy.  We  find  them  taking  once  more  an 
active  part  in  public  and  private  social  functions. 
Thus,  on  the  Sunday  before  Candlemas,  1377  a.d., 
the  friends  of  the  young  Prince  Richard,  son  of  the 


SURVIVALS  OF  MINSTRELSY  261 

Black  Prince,  arranged  a  mummery  exhibition  for 
his  entertainment.  A  large  gathering  of  minstrels 
was  requisitioned.  '  In  the  night,'  relates  the  scribe, 
'  one  hundred  and  thirty  citizens,  disguised  and  well 
horsed,  in  a  mummery,  with  sound  of  trumpets, 
sackbuts,  cornets,  shalms,  and  other  minstrels,  and 
innumerable  torchlights  of  waxe,  rode  from  Newgate 
through  Cheape,  over  the  Bridge  through  South- 
wark,  and  so  to  Kennington  besides  Lambeth,  where 
the  young  Prince  remained  with  his  mother,  and 
the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  his  uncle,  the  Earles  of 
Cambridge,  Hertford,  Warwicke,  and  Suffolke,  with 
divers  other  lords.'* 

Thus  did  the  minstrels  pursue  their  craft  for 
several  further  generations.  They  were,  indeed,  on 
the  decline,  but  they  disappeared  very  gradually, 
and  even  at  our  own  day  they  can  hardly  be  said 
to  have  quite  died  out.  In  remote  country  places 
remnants  of  their  orders  survive  in  the  person  of  the 
itinerant  musician  who  travels  from  village  to  village, 
entertaining  the  villagers  with  instrument  and  song, 
fiddling  for  the  dance  in  the  manor  barn  at  weddings 
and  such-like  festivities,  and  providing  generally  the 
only  music  the  inhabitants  either  hear,  or  hire,  from 
the  outside  world.  What  really  wrought  the  greatest 
change  in  the  minstrel  and  his  art,  however,  was 
the  advent  of  scientific  music,  i.e.,  a  systematized  art. 
From  the  time  that  this  set  in,  and  the  fourteenth 
*  Stowe,  'Surveyof  London.' 


262  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

century  composers  and  theorists  began  their  work, 
minstrelsy  was  doomed,  linger  as  it  might  and  did. 

That  they  died  hard  can  easily  be  imagined. 
There  was  much  about  the  minstrel  and  his  art 
that  won  noble  and  lowly  born  alike  ;  and  with  all 
their  faults  and  failings  the  minstrels  had  long 
rendered  services  not  easily  to  be  forgotten.  Other- 
wise, how  could  they  have  reached  that  pinnacle  of 
estimation  in  which  they  were  so  long  regarded  ? 

We  read  in  the  household  book  of  the  Earls  of 
Northumberland  of  the  regulations  for  the  minstrels  ; 
and  Bishop  Percy,  one  of  that  family,  in  his  '  Hermit 
of  Warkworth,'  says  : 

'  The  minstrels  of  thy  noble  house, 
All  clad  in  robes  of  blue, 
With  silver  crescents  on  their  arms, 
Attend  in  order  due.' 

Beyond  a  few  further  references  in  the  course 
of  our  story,  we  must  here  bid  adieu  to  the  minstrel 
and  his  wondrous  and  captivating  art,  not  for- 
getting how  great  a  blank  such  narratory  musical 
material  filled  for  many  years  when  the  people  had 
little  else  than  their  rustic  music,  with  the  Mass  and 
Service  tones  chanted  by  the  priests  and  monks. 
We  must  not  look  unkindly  upon  either  minstrels  or 
their  art,  but  for  which  many  a  cherished  story  might 
have  perished  untold,  and  not  a  few  of  the  threads 
of  early  English  history  would  have  proved  seriously 
wanting.     They    kept    the    national    chronology    in 


OBLIGATIONS  TO  MINSTRELS  263 


stormy  times,  when  written  records  were  few  and 
far  between.  The  deeds  of  soldier,  bard,  and  sea- 
warrior  were  preserved  in  what  such  singers  sang. 
These  minstrels  moulded  the  stories  of  the  epochs 
—narratives  of  terrible  onslaughts  and  victorious 
repulses — into  acquisitive  verse,  and  blended  with  it 
characteristic  music  such  as  rave  life  and  colour  to 
all  that  they  told.  Needless  to  say  that  such  accom- 
paniments breathed  the  true  national  spirit !  The 
English  people  were  made,  and  their  music  untainted, 
so  that  the  soul-stirring  melodies  which  helped  the 
stories'  current,  the  harmony  that  was  swept  by  many 
a  soft  wind,  was  the  true  English  music — notable  for 
its  freshness  and  vigour,  and  that  peculiar  ring  of 
distinctiveness  which  can  still  be  traced,  and  which 
indisputably  gives  its  home  and  origin  to  no  other 
country  but  Old  England. 

Principal  Authorities. 

'  Anecdotes  of  Music  ' Burgh. 

'  Antiquities  of  Chester  ' Leycester. 

'  Baronage  ' Dugdale. 

'  History  of  Staffordshire ' Plott. 

1  Relicks  of  the  Welsh  Bards  ' Jones. 

'  Essay  on  National  Song ' Ritson. 

'  Order  of  the  Garter ' -  Anstis. 

'  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time  '  Chappell. 

'  Chronicles  of  England,  France,  and  Spain '     -        -  Froissart. 

'  Survey  of  London  ' Stovve. 

1  History  of  Music  '  - Burney. 

The  Monthly  Musical  Record. 

1  Recueil  de  VOrigine  de  la  Lafigne  et  Po'esie  Fran  false  ' 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FIRST  POLYPHONY,  OR  PART-WRITING:  MUSICAL 
GRAMMAR  AND  AUTHORSHIP. 

The  Advent  of  Native  Musical  Authorship— Its  Effect  on  the 
Art — Scientific  versus  Natural  Music — England's  Pre- 
eminence in  Legitimate  Music — The  National  Musical 
Change — Harmony  Evolved — A  Polyphonous  Art — Folk- 
Music — Its  Origin,  Growth,  and  Early  Character — Examples 
of  Folk-songs — '  Sumer  is  icumen  in  ' — Tenth  Century  Augus- 
tine Hymn-Music — Odington,  Monk  of  Evesham — Corpus 
Christi  College  MSS. — Sir  Frederick  A.  Gore  Ouseley  and  Dr. 
Burney  on  Odington — Tunsted — John  de  Muris — Muris  on 
the  Singing  of  his  Day — John  Torksey,  Master  of  Music — 
Robert  Handlo — Burney  on  Handlo — Thomas  Walsingham 
— Lionel  Power — Specimen  of  his  Teachings — Chilston — 
Theinred — Early  Time  and  Measure  Principles — Prolation 
— Modus — Tempus — Perfect  and  Imperfect  Measures — In- 
struments of  the  Period — Bishop  Grossetesteand  his  Chamber 
Harper — MS.  Representations  of  Instruments — The  Organ 
— Early  Details,  Repairs,  Bequests,  etc.,  of  Organs— The 
Variety  and  Number  of  Instruments. 

With  the  coming  of  the  Plantagenets  we  approach 
a  period  in  the  national  musical  life  which  provides 
evidence  that  when  Music,  '  heavenly  maid,  was 
young,'  England  played  the  chief  part  towards 
making  it  what  it  now  is,  the  greatest,  if  youngest, 


POLYPHONY,  OR  PART-WRITING  265 

of  the  arts.      Men  large  in  mind,  and  with  trained 

reasoning  powers,  rose  up  to  grapple  with  perhaps 

the   most   difficult  of  the   many  aspects 
Polyphony, 

or  Part-      of   music.       They    were    not    only    per- 
writing.        r  ,  ... 

formers,  vocal  or  instrumental,  01  merit 

or  otherwise,  nor  did  they  elect  to  fulfil  merely  the 
useful  function  of  becoming  historians  of  the  art  and 
its  workers :  they  did  immeasurably  more.  They 
devoted  their  talents  and  learning  to  fathoming  the 
real  nature  of  music,  tracing  its  mathematical  bases 
and  scientific  conditions,  until  in  time  a  perfectly 
reasonable  art  was  built  up  for  all  nations  and  all 
ages.  Such  a  profound  study,  with  the  unravelling 
of  the  many  abstruse  points  which  it  involved,  could 
alone  suffice  to  make  Music  a  universal  language 
—  a  medium  not  less  powerful  or  effective,  and 
eminently  more  beautiful  than  even  Literature  itself 
— for  expressing  every  shade  of  emotion  which  the 
human  mind  realizes  or  can  appreciate.  Obviously 
it  was  a  great  work,  and  as  a  result  of  much  patience, 
perseverance,  and  genius,  music  was  lifted  out  of 
obscurity  into  the  clear  light  of  reason  and  order. 
From  the  art  of  the  improvisatores  it  became  the 
study  of  scientists  and  calculating  theorists.  English- 
men had  all  to  do  with  this  mighty  evolution,  and 
many  are  the  writers,  and  numerous  the  MSS.,  which 
can  be  arrayed  before  the  student  to  prove  that,  in 
furthering  the  earliest  stages  of  music,  our  country 
took  such  a  share  as  to  justify  its  claim  to  a  supre- 


266  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

macy  over   all   other  countries   as   far   back   in   the 
history  of  the  art  as  the  twelfth  century. 

This  application  of  theory  and  method  to  music 
made  but  slow  progress,  especially  in  its  early 
stages,  when  it  stood  a  strange  and  new  thing,  by 
the  side  of  the  improvised  art  of  the  minstrels, 
which,  with  all  its  grace  and  fervour,  had  held  for 
generations  past  a  strong  hold  on  the  ears  and  hearts 
of  the  people.  We  have  seen  something  of  the  rise, 
progress,  and  decline  of  minstrelsy  ;  and  fortunate 
indeed  was  it  that  while  the  minstrels'  art  was 
spreading  and  influencing  the  national  taste  a  new 
form  of  regulated  and  comprehendable  musical  art, 
to  supplant  it,  should  be  gradually  emerging  from  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  men  who  were  to  prove  them- 
selves the  first  of  England's  disputative  musicians 
and  theorists. 

The  new  style  of  regulated  music  grew  for  a  long 
time  side  by  side  with  minstrelsy,  and  when  at 
length  it  entered  men's  minds  that  the  study  of 
music,  as  a  science,  afforded  a  profitable  and  engag- 
ing pursuit  for  even  the  most  learned,  there  proved 
no  lack  of  gifted  and  diligent  inquirers  into  sound 
values  and  mathematical  ratios,  such  as  the  science 
of  music  involves.  Now  began  to  grow  in  earnest 
that  great  art-phase  of  our  social  national  life,  covered 
by  the  comprehensive  term — Musical  England. 

At  last,  therefore,  we  are  on  solid  ground.  There 
exists  no  more  need  for  doubt  or  speculation  about 


ENGLAND'S  PLACE  IN  DISPUTATIVE  MUSIC        267 

our  subject,  since  the  terra  firma  of  English  musical 
history  is  reached.  The  nature  of  this  footing,  and 
the  date  at  which  it  was  attained,  place  England 
indisputably  two  hundred  years  in  advance  of  any- 
musical  nation  existing1  at  the  time.*  This  enviable 
position  cannot  be  reviewed  save  with  feelings  of 
the  greatest  pride  and  satisfaction,  especially  since 
by  an  unhappy  sequence  of  fashionable  taste  and 
craze,  or,  if  not  that,  of  sheer  neglect  and  contemp- 
tuous indifference  on  the  part  of  those  from  whom 
better  things  might  have  been  expected,  the  voice 
of  musical  Britain  has  been  allowed,  until  the  present 
Queen's  reign,  to  drop  out  entirely  from  the  musical 
councils  of  Europe.  Happily,  the  country  is  now 
fast  regaining  its  rightful  place  in  this  respect. 
When  we  consider  the  low  estimate  in  which  Eng- 
land, as  a  musical  nation,  has  been  popularly  re- 
garded on  the  Continent,  it  must  afford  every  patriot 
mind  the  liveliest  satisfaction  to  be  able  to  point  the 
scornful  to  a  period  when  this  country,  as  incon- 
trovertible evidence  proves,  was  leading  the  way  in 
musical  learning.  Two  or  three  precious  pieces  of 
testimony  have  survived  to  show  that  England 
played  the  major  part  in  making  the  art  of  music 
that  vast  medium  of  thought  and  expression 
which  it  now  is.  One  item  of  proof — '  Sumer  is 
icumen     in  ' — gives     England,    as    we    have    said, 

*  If  we  accept   the  Cornish  hymn  to  St.  Augustine  with  its 
music,  we  are  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ahead. 


268  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


a  precedence  of  something  like  two  centuries  in  the 
creative  department  of  music.  This  is  no  trifling 
possession  ! 

The  aim  and  end  of  all  music  is  the  expression 
and  inciting  of  feeling,  passion,  emotion — whatever 
it  may  be  called  ;  and  although  melody  is  eminently 
adapted  to  the  utterance  of  sentiment  and  feeling, 
its  great  power  as  a  medium  is  enhanced  beyond 
measure  immediately  it  is  associated  with  the  sister 
element  —  harmony.  With  melody  and  harmony 
combined — and  especially  according  to  prescribed 
rule  and  method — an  illimitable  sphere  of  musical 
possibility  opened  out.  The  natural  outpourings  in 
which  the  minstrels  and  others  before  them  indulged, 
afforded  the  liveliest  pleasure  to  all  who  heard  them, 
because  such  improvisations  were  the  outpourings 
of  really  gifted  artist-minds  ;  that  they  partook  of 
many  desirable  musical  properties  is  also  certain 
enough  ;  but,  after  all,  the  reach  of  such  art  was  pre- 
scribed, and  it  perforce  passed  away  with  those  who 
practised  it.  The  remembrance  of  it  alone  remained. 
Directly  music  became  a  written  art  that  could  be 
expressed  in  understandable  characters,  then  its 
position  was  wholly  altered.  With  a  melody  legible 
and  on  a  writing  substance,  another  melody  and 
another  could  be  built  upon  it  at  the  will  and  tempera- 
ment of  the  composer,  and  thus  penned,  all  would 
become  permanent  art-work.  Such  was  exactly 
what  took  place  in  musical   England  after  the  best 


FIRST  ADOPTION  OF  HARMONY  269 


period  of  the  minstrels.  Harmony  discovered  and 
reduced  to  a  scientific  study — peculiarly  suited  as  it 
was  and  is  to  many  voices — a  scope  was  immediately 
afforded  to  musical  expression  such  as  the  fondest 
dreams  of  the  improvisatores  and  minstrels  could 
hardly  have  realized. 

To  go  to  the  actual    source,    harmony  seems   to 
have  arisen  in  the  first  instance  among  the  Northern 
tribes  of  Europe,  and  it  was  not  for  centuries  after 
First        they    had    freely    adopted    it    for    secular 
Adoption    pUrpOSes    that   ^   was   admitted   into   the 
Harmony.    music  of  the  Church.     Some  writers  en- 
deavour to   attribute   the    introduction   of  harmony 
into  music  to  the  influence  of  Christianity.     So  far 
as   England  is   concerned,   such  a  fixture  would  be 
wrong  indeed,  unless  we  elect  to  forego  the  musical 
reputation  of  the  country  prior  to,  say,  Augustine's 
time.      It  is   in  the  nature  of  things  that  wherever 
there  is  melody  there  harmony  is  close  by,  and  it 
(though  not  perhaps  a  written  art)  must  have  been 
in  practice  here  long  before  the  news  and  influence  of 
the  great  Passion-drama  on  Calvary  could  have  spread 
to  these  shores.     That  Christianity  greatly  aided  the 
development  of  harmony,  however,  is  beyond  ques- 
tion.     Music  is,  of  all  the  arts,  the  one  most  capable 
of  reaching  the  emotions.      It  will  rise  up  out  of  the 
deepest  depths  of  the  soul ;  it  will  sink  into  its  most 
inward  recesses.      No  wonder,  therefore,  that  when 
the  dark  veil  of  Paganism  lifted  over  Europe,  and 


270  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

the  glorious  light  of  Christianity  was  discerned  in 
the  darkness,  that  the  precious  revelation  began  to 
be  reflected  in,  and  to  find  expression  through 
music.  Thus  it  was  that  harmony,  i.e.,  polyphonic 
or  several-voiced  music,  adapted  for  young  men  and 
maidens,  old  men  and  children,  set  out  on  its  grand 
march. 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  unwritten  English 
musical  art,  it  behoves  us  to  consider  an  aspect  of 
the  national  music  which  must  have  largely  tinctured 
Folk_  and  flavoured  the  creations  of  England's 
music.  ^rst  legitimate  composers,  Folk-music  is 
a  phase  of  every  country's  art  which  cannot  but 
have  permeated  all  early  written  music,  just  as  the 
'  ding-dong '  or  turn  of  a  successful  song  nowadays 
induces  countless  imitations.  The  unique  position 
that  folk-songs  and  traditional  melodies  occupied  at  a 
period  when  Western  Europe  was  without  music- 
science  ;  the  great  blank  such  must  have  filled 
before,  and  long  after,  the  dawn  of  Christianity  ;  the 
element  that  folk  music  constituted  in  the  foundation 
and  development  of  the  various  European  schools  of 
music  ;  its  value  and  aid  as  a  faithful  index  of  the 
minds,  longings,  and  fancies  of  the  people  of  the 
soil — all  render  it  a  valuable  factor  in  the  making-up 
of  the  national  musical  style  and  character.  What 
colour  and  tins;e  this  folk-music  must  have  lent  to 
the  healthy  minds  of  the  first  English  expressionists  ! 
Wherever   the    folk-sons:   has   lived   and   flourished 


FOLK-MUSIC  FACTOR  271 

amid  its  pure  air  of  nature,  it  has  emanated  from 
the  life  of  the  people,  and  has  grown  out  of  the  soil 
that  they  trod.  Hebrews,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  all 
had  these  songs,  and  while  the  women  lightened 
their  domestic  pursuits  with  their  country's  melodies, 
the  men  sung  them  as  they  tempered  the  war 
weapon  and  ploughed  the  furrow. 

With  the  migration  of  the  German  races,  when 
music  as  an  art  yet  was  not,  the  tedium  of  many  a 
monotony  must  have  been  dallied  away  to  a  soft 
folk-theme,  or  an  onslaught  in  battle  intensified  by 
some  errand,  soul-stirrino-  alee  which  the  warrior 
Teuton  learned  as  he  lived.  His  existence  often  was 
under  sparse  roof  save  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven, 
while  his  land-song  glittered  with  rapine  and 
aggression.  Rarely  with  him  was  it  attuned  in 
peaceful  vein,  more  often  impelling  its  singers  to 
axe  and  oar  with  a  dash  which  made  Roman 
enemies  fear  them  as  fierce  and  cunning  foes,  with 
the  sea  for  a  war-school  and  the  storm  for  a  friend. 

It  is  strains  such  as  these,  strains  which  have 
sprung  out  of  many  of  the  worst  feelings  as  well  as 
of  the  manv  varied  and  nobler  moods  of  which  human 
nature  is  capable,  that  constitute  Folk-music.  Such 
emanations  sprang  direct  from  the  heart,  and  were 
as  psychologically  true  as  music  can  be  :  the  shep- 
herd tending  his  flock,  the  soldier  on  the  march,  the 
fisherman  mending  his  nets,  the  sower  casting  seed, 
the    reaper  joyous  with    his    sickle — these   chanted 


272  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

and  sang  songs  long  before  the  age  of  scientific  art, 

and  all  is  reflected  in  a  country's  musical  character. 

The  characteristic  of  the  folk-song  is  the  fidelity 

with    which    it     reflects    nature    in    its    human    and 

physical  aspects.      Unadorned  by  art,  it  speaks  the 

simple  minds  of  the   people,  and,  as  we 
Nature  L  L       L 

of  Folk-    muse  over  its  tones,  we  not  only  picture 
music.        ....  . 

the   gaily-attired   peasantry   who   sang   it, 

but  we  seem  to  breathe  the  very  air  of  the  country 
to  which  it  belongs.  It  tells  of  the  existence  and 
every-day  life  of  workers,  indoor  and  outdoor,  whose 
character  alone  remains  to  us  as  we  see  it  reflected 
in  these  faithful  mirrors  of  times  which  every  lover 
of  his  country  cherishes. 

British  folk-music  that  has  come  down  to  us  has 
all  the  mixture  of  influences  which  have  been  in- 
fused into  us,  and  which  have  made  us  pre-eminent 

„  .  .         as    a   people.     The    soft    and    fascinating 
British  r      L  .  .  .  & 

Folk-  nature  of  the  strains  of  ancient  British 
bards,  as  well  as  the  good-humoured 
heartiness  and  manly  strength  and  simplicity  of  the 
Saxon,  can  easily  be  traced  throughout  our  national 
songs.  Even  more  strongly  marked  in  this  folk- 
music  is  the  Celtic  character,  with  its  impetuous, 
sensitive,  and  ardent  swellings  of  wild  melancholy 
and  deep  pathos,  a  feature  which  no  conquest  could 
stamp  out  nor  even  reach,  hid  away,  as  it  perforce  was, 
in  the  Welsh  fastness  and  Highland  stronghold. 

As  an  art  factor,  the   folk-song  cannot  be   over- 


BY  CHANCE  IT  WAS' 


273 


rated.  Breath  of  the  sod,  these  natural  outpourings, 
with  their  glow  of  truth  and  warmth,  gave  life  to 
many  kindred  melodies  for  generation  and  genera- 
tion. The  early  contrapuntists  used  the  most 
popular  folk-melodies  as  themes  for  their  Masses 
and  motets.  That  more  of  this  British  folk-music 
has  not  come  down  to  us  in  notation  is  to  be  re- 
gretted. The  possession  of  the  roundelays,  refrains, 
and  dance  tunes,  many  of  which  go  back  to  the 
time  of  Henry  VII.,  would  throw  a  strong  light  on 
the  habits  and  customs  of  our  ancestors,  and  enable 
us  to  peep  far  back  into  the  social  life  of  '  Merrie  ' 
E  noland. 

BY   CHANCE   IT  WAS. 


1 6th   Century. 


icft-F-g-*!-  n 


V=L_~V:i=::1ST 


By  chance  it    was  I    met  my  love,   It  did  me  much  sus- 


i^^^^^fw^m 


prise, 


Down  by    a  sha  -  dy  myr-tle  grove,  Just    as  the  sun  did 


fgpoiiililgil 


-j      |N     I — rV) 


rise  :       The     birds  they  sang  right  gloriously,  And  pleasant  was  the 


&--, 


air,  And  there  was  none  save  she  and  I,   A-mong  the    flowers    fair. 

18 


274 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


FATHOM    THE    BOWL. 
Ancient   Welsh  Harp  Time. 


S   V 


Come  all  you  old  minstrels  wherever  you    be  !  With  comrades  united  in 

sweet  har-mo-ny,  While  the  clear  cry-stal  fountain        England  shall  roll,  Give 

through 


■— i — —  -* — ^— >  -*— •— a— d^^-  ^-  -Td— a -•— g— £t 

■ — y /l • — m-m — i — m — *■•— ■ — Z1 


p: 

me  the  punch  ladle,  I'll    fathom  the      bowl ;  Give  me  the  punch  ladle,    I'll 


E5zr£:z£=z: 


fathom  the  bowl. 


=£ft 


THE    PAINFUL   (FAITHFUL)    PLOUGFI. 
Traditional. 
Vt— r ! t— \i 


Come  all  you    jolly       ploughmen,     of    courage  stout  and 


i— 


bold,   Tliat  labour  all  the    winter     in  the  stormy  winds  and  cold  :  To 


TRADITIONAL  FOLK-SONGS  275 


clothe  your  fields  with  plenty,  your  farm-yards  to    re-new,     For      to 


(  .  t:# — — ^zsp — ?_*  -^=t-# — #- — g — :p  — 3 


crown  them  with  con  -  tent  -  ment,  behold     the  pain  -  ful  plough. 

These  were  the  songs  which  found  vent  at  the 
Whitsun-ales,  May-games,  Sheep-shearings,  Harvest- 
homes,  Christmas  Feasts,  Wakes  and  Weddings. 

'  This  traditional  music,'  writes  an  authority  upon 
West  Country  music,  '  lies  in  superimposed  beds. 
Among  the  yeoman  and  farmer  class,  a  few,  chiefly 
hunting  songs,  remain.  .  .  .  They  know  nothing 
of  those  in  the  social  bed  below,  which  is  the  most 
auriferous  ;  and  the  old  song-men  who  sing  for  their 
1  entertainment '  in  taverns  do  not  know  the  songs 
sung  at  the  firesides  of  the  yeomen.  .  .  .  Our  folk- 
music  is  a  veritable  morraine  of  rolled  and  ground 
fragments  from  musical  strata  far  away.  It  contains 
melodies  of  all  centuries  down  to  the  present,  all 
thrown  together  into  one  confused  heap.'* 

The  most  remarkable  example  of  early  part  music, 
if  we  except  a  hymn  to  St.  Augustine,  is  the  com- 
position known  as  '  Sumer  is  icumen  in,'  probably 
the  greatest  musical  curiosity  extant.  It  is  the 
oldest  piece   of  polyphonic  and  canonical  composi- 


*  < 


Songs  and  Ballads  of  the  West '  (Baring  Gould  and  Sheppard). 


276  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


tion  known  to  be  in  existence,  and  is  reputed  to  be 

also   the  oldest   song  with   musical    notes   attached 

to  it.      It  is   in  the  handwriting  of  the 
'  Sumer  is  , 

icumen        thirteenth  century.      The  words  form  an 
old   Northumbrian    Round,   and    are    in 
praise  of  the  cuckoo,  a  favourite  subject  in  every 
age,  with  both  poets  and  musicians. 

Wanley,  an  accomplished  antiquary  and  musi- 
cian, discovered  the  composition  in  1709,  and  both 
Burney  and  Hawkins  referred  to  and  produced  it  in 
their  musical  histories,  published  later  ( 1  776).  These 
writers  attributed  this  musical  curiosity  to  about  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  but  subsequent  re- 
searches have  proved  that  both  Dr.  Burney  and  Sir 
John  Hawkins  were  in  error,  and  that  the  MS.  is 
beyond  all  doubt  two  hundred  years  older,  i  e.,  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Henry  III.  Sir  Frederick 
Madden  declared  it  to  belong  to  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, and  fixed  its  date  circa  1250  a.d.  The  late 
Mr.  William  Chappell,*  the  accomplished  antiquary 
and  author  of  '  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time,' 
took  a  great  interest  in  this  remarkable  composition, 
and  now  we  know  conclusively  its  real  antiquity. 

It  was  copied  by  a  monk  of  Reading,  named  John 
Fornsete,  a  man  of  light  and  learning,  whose  name 
will  ever  adorn  English  musical  annals.  The  latest 
date  of  his  work  is  the  year  1228,  when  the  original 

*  Who  reproduced  the  MS.  with  black  stave-lines  instead  of 
red,  as  in  the  original. 


'SUMER  IS  ICUMEN  IN'  277 

could  not  have  been  very  long  composed.  This 
practically  fixes  the  date  of  the  copy.  The  author 
of  the  music — and  that  talented  countryman  was 
probably  one  of  a  small  knot  of  gifted  musical 
workers  who  constituted  the  First  English  School — 
gives  the  following  curious  directions  for  the  per- 
formance of  his  piece,  which  he  calls  '  Rota  ':  '  Hanc 
rotam  cantare  possunt  quatuor  socii.  Paucioribus 
autem  quam  tribus  aut  saltern  duobus  non  debet 
dici ;  prseter  eos  qui  dicunt  pedem.  Canitur  autem 
sic.  Tacentibus  ceteris,  unus  inchoat  cum  his  qui 
tenent  pedem.  Et  cum  venerit  ad  primam  notam 
post  crucem  inchoat  alius  ;  et  sic  de  ceteris.  Singuli 
vero  et  repausent  ad  pausaciones  scriptas,  et  non  alibi, 
spatio  unius  longse  notse.'  It  is,  therefore,  a  six- 
voiced  canon,  four  in  one,  built  upon  two  additional 
parts,  forming  a  '  Pes '  or  ground  bass,  the  only 
piece  of  music  in  six  real  parts  known  to  exist  before 
the  fifteenth  century.  The  words  of  the  song  in 
full  are  : 

'  Sumer  is  icumen  in,  Lhouth  after  calve  cu  ; 

Lhude  sing  Cuccu.  Bulluc  sterteth, 

Groweth  sed,  and  bloweth  Bucke  verteth, 

med,  Murie  sing  Cuccu, 

And  springth  the  wde  nu.  Cuccu,  Cuccu. 

Sing  Cuccu.  Wei  singes  thu  Cuccu  ; 

Awe  bleteth  after  lomb,  Ne  swik  thu  nauer  nu.'* 


*  Which  means  to  say,  Summer  has  come  in,  loud  sings  the 

cuckoo.     The  seed  grows,  and  the  mead  blows — i.e.,  is  in  flower 

—and  the  new  wood  springs.     The  ewe  bleats  after  the  lamb, 


278 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


A  transcription  of  this  remarkable  composition 
into  the  modern  form  of  notation  is  given  below, 
from  which  the  reader  will  be  able  to  judge  of  the 
sweet  and  pastoral  nature  of  the  music,  and  its 
adaptability  to  the  words. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  composition  is  fairly 
free  from   errors  of  harmony,  and  that  it  is  a  strict 

SUMER  IS  ICUMEN  IN. 


i 


^&~m 


& ©T 


EEEJ^f^dij^Egjii^ 


Su  -  mer  is      i  -  cu-men     in,  Lhu-de     sing  Cuc-cu. 


Iii^ilfil 


—  T(S>- 


IS1 

3-. 


zzii^zpz 


tg—g 


-V 


I 


Su-mer     is      i  -  cu-men 


m. 


— . j. :i it :r i 


r^==-. 


I-22I 


&-  . 


um 


^ 


■m 


Sing        Cue     -     cu  nu.  Sing        Cue 

m 


cu. 


-&-  •   _Q  .    -&- ' 


■-&-*- 


Sing         Cue     -     cu. 


Sing         Cue 


cu 


the  cow  lows  after  the  calf;  the  bullock  starts,  the  buck  verts— or 
leaves  the  wood  for  the  grass — merrily  sings  the  cuckoo.  Well 
singest  thou,  cuckoo  ;  may'st  thou  never  cease. 


'SUMER  IS  ICUMEN  IN' 


279 


SUMER  IS  ICUMEN  IN  {continued). 


YzE^i 


-&-■ 


tXO.  CLL^=_U-CL 


^m 


Grow  eth  sed,  and  Llow-eth  med,  And  springth  the  w  -  de 


iSHm 


~-&-^- 

:-—=; 

a  •     ' 

I_i2 


Z^|ij=^ 


in, 


Lhu-de  sing  Cue  -  cu. 


Grow  -  eth  sed,  and 


m 


^ 


T  S> — G> 


SI 


i  ■  o       ■ 


-#■ — — — t   ^    t  ■■-— — t~ ^"j— ^ — r&- 


Su-mer     is       i  -  cu  men     in, 


Lhu 
t-e- 


de  sing  Cuc- 


Su     -     mer     is     i 
-&    *  «    . 


IZ2~ 


Sing         Cue     -     cu 


nu. 


Sing 


Cue 


**ff= 


©T 


-9 


-E 


.Ci 


^    * 


S>-i- 


1=3 


nu. 


Sing 


Cue 


cu. 


Mng 


Cue 


canon — in  fact,  it  is,  save  the  Augustine  Hymn,  the 
earliest  example  of  canon  known.  It  supplies  also 
the  earliest  specimen  of  a  ground  bass,  or  '  Pes.'  In 
every  way  it  is  a  priceless  documentary  proof  of 
English  musical  invention.*      Bearing  in  mind   its 

*  The  original  of  this  MS.  is  in  the  British  Museum,  Harleian 
Collection,  No.  978,  and  in  the  same  valuable  codex  will  be  found 
other  documentary  evidence  of  the  existence  of  this  genuine 
First  English  School. 


28o 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


SUMER  IS  ICUMEN  IN  {continued). 


mm 


221 


nu. 


Sing 


=* 


sisd 


:®=z2±±=Ez=E± 


Cue     -     cu. 


:::s: 


Aw  -  e 


blow-eth  med,  And  springth  the  w  -  de     nu. 


Sing 


r~ft  Q"» 


ui^z?;: :  szslt 


=t 


.IZ27I 


-  cu. 


Grow      -      eth  sed, and  bloweth  med,And  springth  the 


-^fe; 


:fzz_:-s 


IZ2 


-G>- 


IS! 


cumen  in, 
-«s>- . 


*==: 


Lhu     •     de  sing  Cue  -  cu. 


©--— }P- 


3— ©T- 


Grow-eth 
<S>-  . 


cu. 


m 


-&-- 


1^2: 


G>T 


Sing 


Cue     •     cu  nu.  Sing 

o   .        ©*  . 


. .  o-i 


cu  nu.  Sing 


Cue     -    cu. 


Sing 


undoubted  genuineness,  it  becomes  a  valuable  piece 
of  British  musical  evidence — -quite  enough  to  prove 
absolutely  that,  despite  the  persistent  disregard  of 
England  as  a  musical  nation  by  her  Continental 
neighbours,  this  country  can  fearlessly  lay  claim  to 
a  precedence  even  in  musical  matters — to  having,  in 
fact,  given  the  Western  world  its  musical  start  in 
those  far-off  days  when  constructive  music  was  in  its 
first  stages  towards  becoming  the  great  art — the  vast 


'  SUMER  IS  ICUMEN  IN  ' 


SUMER  IS  ICUMEN  IN  {continued). 
-t~r  li 


^-rst^ 


:^=^h^^^^d 


bleteth  af  -  ter  lomb,  Lhouth  af  -  ler    cal  -  ve  cu  ; 


m 


:~s: 


d::^_i^.::2_- 


&■ 


I 


&A& 


:sz 


Cue    -    cu. 


V&-G 


imiwm. 


Aw  -  e  blet  -  eth  af  -  ter  lomb, Lhouth 

&T -T-   -     .         T©  — 


--&-'- 


wmm 


w  -  de  nu. 


Sing 


Cue     -     cu. 


sed,  and  bloweth  rued,  And  springth  the  w  -  de     nu. 


_<2_  •  _ 


-&■  ' 


H^HlIf 


Cue    -    cu. 


& 


Sing         Cue     -     cu 


M^\^=^mm 


m 


Cue  -  cu 


nu. 


Sing      Cue     -     cu. 


vehicle  of  refined,   as  well  as  unrefined  expression 
which  it  now  is. 

One  curious  characteristic  marks  this  composition. 
Though  in  praise  of  the  cuckoo,  no  attempt  is  made 
to  imitate  that  bird's  call,  one  of  the  simplest  of  re- 
production, since  it  is  but  a  descending  third  interval. 
The  temptation  to  introduce  this  into  the  music 
would  certainly  be  more  than  many  modern  musicians 
would  be  able  to  withstand. 


282 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


:~o: 


SUMER  IS  ICUMEN  IN  {continued). 


r^z ^:  .g,.  _z^ 


:2 


:<a 


i 


Wel    singes     thu  Cue 


cu  ;       Ne  swik  thu  na  -  ver  nu. 


:^ 


:c 


•  (S>- 


111 


Mu-rie     sing     Cuc-cu 


22=22X5=^: 


cu. 

•<9- 


n 


Bul-luc  stert-eth,    Buck-e     vert-eth,     Mu  -  rie  sing  Cuc-cu. 


{&.-&-— 

227-izz:: 

.  &_^ — 

na— ^i 

V. -^  j? 



-: 

H 


Sing         Cue 


cu 


nu. 


Sing 


Cue 


cu. 


-<s> 


.Q_± 


Sing 


Cue 


I I — M— I  &-'■ — 1^^  — i.g.-_ _ 

Sing 


cu. 


Cue 


On  the  original  are  engrossed  in  red  letters  the 
following  instructions  as  to  the  singing  of  the  '  Pes  ' 
in  two  lower  parts  : 

t.   '  Hoc  repetit  unus  quoties  opus  est,  faciens  pausacionem  in  fine.' 
2.   '  Hoc  dicit  alius  pausans  in  medio  et  non  in  fine,  sed  immediate 
repetens  principium.' 

The  Latin  words  which  are  written  under  the  old 
English  ones  suggest  that  the  music  was  also  used 
for  religious  purposes.     This  was  not,  probably,  the 


CORNISH  HYMN  TO  AUGUSTINE  283 


original  intention.  It  is  more  likely  that  the  tune 
was  seized  upon,  as  often  was  the  case  with  secular 
airs,  for  adaptation  to  words  for  sacred  purposes. 
The  added  words  are  : 


'  Perspice  christicola 
Quae  dignatio 
Ccelicus  agricola 
Pro  vitis  vitio 


Filio  non  parcens 
Exposuit  mortis  exitio 
Qui  captivos 
Semivivos 


A  supplicio 
Vitas  donat 
Et  secum  coronat 
In  coeli  solio.' 


Possibly  parchment  may  have  been  dear  and  scarce 
in  those  days,  since  a  similar  utilization  of  space 
occurs  in  the  '  Angelus  ad  Virginein  '  MS.  belonging 
to  the  same  period.* 

We  have  referred  in  a  former  chapter  to  Guido 
and  Franco,  and  their  wonderful  inventions  of  sol- 
mization,  notation,  time  characters,  etc.     With  these 

*  In  connection  with  the  much  and  rightly  lauded  '  Sumer  is 
icumen  in,'  mention  should  here  be  made  of  a  composition  of 
even  earlier  date,  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mee  brought  under  the 
notice  of  the  Musical  Association  in  a  paper  read  by  him  in  May, 
1888.  This  MS.  is  a  hymn  to  St.  Augustine  (No.  572,  Bodleian 
MSS.,  Oxford),  set  for  two  voices,  and  believed  by  experts  to  have 
been  written  in  Cornwall  as  early  as  the  tenth  century.  This 
composition  antedates  '  Sumer  is  icumen  in '  by  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  than  which  it  is  certainly  not  less 
striking  as  an  example  of  polyphonic  composition.  To  quote  a 
writer  in  the  Musical  Times,\  'it  tells  the  same  tale,  but  in  a  far 
?nore  striking  way;  for  if  both  pieces  are  measured  by  the 
standards  of  their  own  time,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  art  shown  in 
the  eleventh  century  composition  is  far  more  extraordinary  than 
that  exhibited  in  the  famous  "  Round." ' 

t  August,  1895. 


284  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


once  provided,  and  such  musical  signs  as  the  series 
of  black  notes  called  a  'semibreve,'  'breve,'  'long' 
Walter  anc^  '  large>'  the  material  of  written  music 
Odington.  was  supplied.  One  of  the  earliest, 
probably  the  first  writer  upon  the  theory  of  music 
after  Guido  and  Franco,  was  an  Englishman — 
Walter  Odington,  or  Odyngton,  Monk  of  Evesham, 
Worcestershire.  He  was  born,  as  we  shall  read 
later  on,  at  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century,  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  III. — the  date  of  one  of  his 
theoretical  writings  being  ascribed  to  the  year 
1240  A.D. 

An  old  authority,  Dugdale,  speaks  of  Odington 
among  learned  Englishmen  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Benedict — i.e.,  he  was  a  Benedictine  monk — 'a  man 
of  a  facetious  wit,  who,  applying  himself  to  literature, 
lest  he  should  sink  under  the  labour  of  the  day,  the 
watching  at  night,  and  continual  observance  of  reli- 
gious discipline  used,  at  spare  hours,  to  divert  him- 
self with  the  decent  and  commendable  diversion  of 
music,  to  render  himself  the  more  cheerful  for  other 
duties.'  This  apology,  however,  for  the  time  he 
bestowed  on  music  was  quite  unnecessary,  since  in 
Odington's  day,  and  long  after,  no  monk  or  Romish 
priest  could  hope  to  succeed  in  his  profession  if 
ignorant  of  music,  a  rule  which  it  is  a  pity  has  not 
been  enforced  among  Anglican  clergy  of  later  times. 
Then  it  was,  too,  that  in  secular  life  a  knowledge  of 
music   was   part  of  the  compulsory  education  of  a 


ODINGTON  MS.  285 


gentleman,    the    art    having    second    or    third   rank 

among  the  accomplishments. 

The  Odington   MS.   referred   to  is  entitled    '  De 

Speculatione    Musical    and    is    preserved    in    the 

Library  of  Corpus  Christi  (which  Burney 

Specula-    calls  St.  Benet's)  College,  Cambridge.      It 

Musicae'    forms    part    of    the    Parker   collection    of 
Tract.       MSS ^   the  gift  of  Archbishop   parker  to 

the  College.    It  is  thus  briefly  described  in  Nasmyth's 

catalogue  : 

CCCCX. 

CODEX     MEMBRANACEUS     IN     4TO,    SECULO    XV.    SCRIPTUS,    IN    QUO 

CONTINENTUR. 

i.  Summus    fratris    Walteri    (Odingtoni)    monachi    Eveshamise 

musici  de  Speculatione  Musicae. 
2.  Imperfecta  quaedam  de  re  musica  Latine  et  Anglice. 

Its  first  page  only  has  been  injured  by  time,  and 
some  vacuities  have  been  left  by  the  scribe,  which 
seem  intended  to  have  been  filled  up  with  red  ink. 
The  work  is  divided  into  six  parts  or  books,  full 
particulars  of  which  are  given  by  Burney.*  The 
first  part,  '  Dc  Inequalitate  Numerorum  et  eorum 
Habitudine'  consists  of  ten  chapters  on  the  division 
of  the  scale  and  harmonical  proportions  ;  the  second 
part,  with  eighteen  chapters,  treats  of  ancient  musical 
history,  the  Greek  scales,  harmonical  proportions, 
etc.  ;  the  third  part  is  chiefly  speculative,  and  touches 
such   diverse  matters  as  harmonics,  proportions  of 

*   *  History  of  Music,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  156  et  seq. 


286 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


organ-pipes,  the  casting  of  bells,  and  melody  ;  the 
fourth  book  concerns  poetical  feet  and  rhythms 
rather  than  music  ;  while  the  fifth  part,  of  eighteen 
chapters,  deals  with  the  notes  or  characters  used 
during  his  time,  in  chanting  or  plain  song,  as 
follows  : 


Punctum 

Bispunctum 
Tripunctum 


Apostropha 


Bistropha 


T¥ 


Tristropha    —9 — ^ — 9- 


Virga 


Bivirgia 


Trivergia 


* 


Virga  Biconpunctis  -+ 


^X5L 


3r^ 


_      Virga   Triconpunctis — condiatessaries, 
-^ — 5 -  -        condiapentis,  etc. 


which  characters  express  almost  every  species  of 
interval  by  a  single  character,  and  groups  of  notes 
by  a  single  term  of  art,  added  to  which  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  different  kinds  of  ecclesiastical  chants,  and  the 
rules  to  be  observed  in  their  composition.  Finally,  in 
the  sixth  and  last  part  Odington  treats  of  organum, 
or  the  composition  of  additional  parts  to  melodies, 
etc.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  a  most 
remarkable  work  for  its  time,  one  which,  in  Burney's 
opinion,  would  prove  to  be  '  the  most  ample,  satis- 
factory, and  valuable  which  the  Middle  Ages  can 
boast.' 


FORKEL  ON  ODINGTON  287 

Thus  did  one  of  our  own  countrymen  take  up  the 
science  and  theory  of  music  where  it  had  been  left 
by   Franco,  thereby  giving  Britain  the  indisputable 
England     honour  of  supplying  the  next  writer  upon 
Mensural    mensural     music     following     Franco     of 
Music.      Cologne.     Such  an  achievement  must  not 
be  lost  sight  of,  especially  in  face  of  the  contemp- 
tuous spirit   in   which    it    has   been    the   fashion    to 
regard   the  part  played  by  this  country  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  art. 


»v>ui  tol  -         -      lis       pec  ca  ta. 

LETTER    NOTATION   OF  GUIDO   D'AREZZO,    WITH   DECIPHERING. 

The  reader  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that 
attempts  have  been  made  to  depreciate,  and  even  to 
deny  to  England,  the  pre-eminent  position  to  which 
Odington's  writings  entitle  her,  some  of  the  de- 
tractors going  to  the  extent  of  doubting  the  authen- 
ticity of  both  the  man  and  the  manuscript. 

Let  us  take  Forkel,*  the  musical  historian,  and 
after  him  Kiesewetter,  who  roundly  abuse  Burney 
for  his   defence  of  Odington.       Forkel   declares  of 

*  Vol.  ii.,  p.  415,  et  seq. 


288  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Odington  that  4  we  know  scarcely  anything  more  of 
him  than  the  name,  and  the  existence  of  a  treatise 
said  to  be  his,  but  nowhere  published  ;'  while  Kiese- 
wetter  is  bolder  still  :  '  I  challenge  all  English  critics 
to  confess  that  they  know  nothing  more  of  the  monk 
of  Evesham,  if  they  know  him  only  through  their 
Burney.  The  praises  which  the  Doctor  [Burney] 
lavishes  upon  him  are  by  no  means  conclusive.  He 
is  dazzled  by  patriotism,  and  his  object  can  only  be 
to  flatter  his  countrymen  when  he  says  of  the 
treatise  in  question,  that  it  would  have  made  all 
works  fro7Ji  the  time  of  Boethius  to  Franco,  even 
had  they  been  collectively  lost,  unnecessary  to  the 
world!* 

This  is  strong,  and  a  fair  sample  of  the  style  of 
criticism  that  has  been  applied  in  the  past  regarding 
English  musical  work  and  influence. 

A  few  fortunate  features  hinder  such  sweeping 
censure.  The  MS.  itself  can  be  handled  and  ex- 
amined by  trustworthy  persons ;  but  perhaps  the 
views  of  a  later  critic  concerning  the  work  and  its 
author,  an  authority  whose  testimony  is  as  valuable 
as  that  of  any  foreigner,  will  be  the  best  answer  to 
all  objections  whatever,  and  whenever  raised.  Sir 
Frederick  A.  Gore  Ouseley,  Mus.  Doc,  and  late 
Professor  of  Music  at  Oxford  University,  in  rightly 
making  some  interpolations  to  Naumann's  '  History 
of  Music,'  wherein  English  musical  history  had,  as 
*  '  History  of  Music,'  p.  291. 


O  USE  LEY  OX  ODINGTOX  2S9 


usual,  been  neglected,  says  :  '  Putting  John  Cotton 
on  one  side  as  doubtful,  there  still  remain  several 
well-known  early  theorists,  concerning  whose  English 
nationality  there  can  be  no  uncertainty  at  all.  The 
earliest  is  Walter  Odington,  who  was  probably  born 
somewhere  between  1 180  and  1 190  A.D.  He  was  a 
monk  of  Evesham,  and  was  elected  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  in  1228  a.d.,  but  the  Pope  disallowed 
the  appointment.  He  is  supposed  to  have  lived  till 
about  the  year  1250  a.d.  In  the  library  of  Christ's 
College,  Cambridge,  there  is  the  only  known  copy 
of  his  treatise,  "  De  Speculations  Musicce?  the  one 
work  of  his  which  has  come  down  to  us.  This  is  a 
very  valuable  book,  because  it  gives  a  very  vivid 
and  correct  notion  of  the  state  of  the  art  of  music  at 
the  time  it  was  written.  It  has  been  printed  and 
edited  by  Coussemaker,  the  fertile  French  historian, 
in  the  first  volume  of  his  admirable  "  Collection  of 
Ancient  Musical  Treatises,"  and  is  worth  studying 
on  account  of  the  variety  of  topics  it  embraces. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  was  one  of  the  most 
learned  and  versatile  writers  of  his  period.'" 

That  Burney  should  rejoice  in  such  a  work  and 
be  moved  to  praise  its  author  is  only  natural  and 
just,  and  every  Briton  with  a  spark  of  amor patrice  in 
his  composition  will  rejoice  in  the  book  being  a  piece 
of  native  handicraft,  if  we  may  use  the  terfn.  The 
MS.,  setting  aside  matters  of  comparison  with  Guido, 
*  Naumann's  '  History  of  Music,'  pp.  560,  561. 

19 


290  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Franco,  or  any  other,  shows  beyond  all  reasonable 
doubt  that  this  country,  at  the  time  the  work  was 
written  (about  the  year  1230  a.d.),  was  taking — we 
must  repeat  it — a  far  more  active  part,  and  greater 
share,  in  the  development  of  the  first  stages  of 
musical  art  than  have  ever  been  credited  to  us. 

Happily,  we  can  go  much  farther,  however,  in  the 
making  of  our  present  story,  as  well  as  in  establish- 
ing the  claim  that  the  English  musical  influence  at 
this  time  was  immensely  greater  than  is  commonly 
supposed.  There  need  be  no  hesitation  in  thus 
making  Britain's  musical  merits  known,  for  it  is  only 
her  just  due.  The  old  country  has  such  an  evident 
brilliant  future  before  it  that  the  recounting  of  its 
ancient  musical  achievements  will  show  how  strongly 
linked  is  the  new  with  the  old.  Britain's  place  and 
influence  in  the  past  only  needs  to  be  adequately 
known  and  realized  to  fire  her  young  harmonious 
life  to  splendid  art-doings  in  time  to  come. 

It  must  be  allowed  that  hitherto  this  country  has 
not  followed  Germany  and  Italy  in  their  great 
creative  art-reaches  ;  but  such  regions  might  have 
remained  undiscovered,  unexplored,  and  unproduc- 
tive, save  for  the  great  part  played  by  England  in 
the  early  stages  of  theoretical  musical  development. 
It  was  England  that  invented  much,  and  kept  much 
alive  ;  it  was  this  country  that  brought  down  the 
materials  of  modern  music  which  the  great  tone  poets 
of  Germany   have   applied  and  handled  with   such 


TUX  ST  ED  201 


glorious  and  immortal  results.  The  whole  musical 
world  is  under  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to 
England  for  her  pioneer  musical  work  alone,  and 
there  is  no  other  country  that  can  claim  so  great 
a  share  in  first  musical  development  as  can  our  own 
land. 

Many  excellent  native  scholars  and  musical  dis- 
quisitionists,  whose  names  and  works  deserved  to 
be  perpetuated,  followed  in  the  wake  of  Odington. 
Tunsted,  John  de  Muris,  and  Torksey  are  notable 
among  such  tonal  authorities. 

Simon  Tunsted  (also  spelt  Tunstede)  was  an 
English  Franciscan  monk  and  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
He  was  born  at  Norwich  about  the  year  1310,  and 
died  at  Bruzard,  in  Suffolk,  in  1369  A.D.,  so 
that  he  was  probably  alive  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  I.  He  is  one  of  the  earliest  native  writers 
upon  the  theory  of  music,  and  there  is  every  reason 
to  be  proud  of  him  as  a  man  of  science  and  an  able 
musician,  inasmuch  as  no  doubt  whatever  can  be 
raised  to  cloud  his  personality  as  a  leader  of  early 
English  musical  thought.  Two  works  from  his  pen, 
'  De  Musicd  Continud  et  Discre/a  cum  Diagram- 
matibus '  and  '  De  Quatuor  Principalibus  in  quibus 
totius  MusiccB  Radices  Consistunt,  are  preserved  in 
MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford.  This 
latter  treatise  has  been  edited  and  produced  by 
Coussemaker,  the  French  historian.  Burney  states 
that  Tunsted  '  was  in  such   favour  for  his  learning 


292  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


and  piety  as  to  be  unanimously  chosen    Provincial 
Master  of  all  England.'* 

John  de  Muris,  or  Murus,  second  in  our  list, 
flourished  circa  1330- 1400,  and  although  some 
doubt  has  obtained  respecting  his  nationality,  a  con- 
join census  of  opinion  fixes  it  as  English. 
de  Muris.  While  some  writers  have  regarded  him 
as  a  Norman  and  Italian,  others  have  alluded  to  him 
as  a  highly-gifted  French  ecclesiastic.  It  is  certain 
that  he  was  a  distinguished  writer  and  musician  who 
held  the  post  of  Chanter  in  the  church  of  Notre 
Dame  of  Paris,  becoming  also  a  Doctor  and  Canon 
of  the  Sorbonne ;  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
holding-  of  these  appointments  in  France  may  ac- 
count for  his  English  origin  being  questioned. 

He  is  known  to  have  been  the  author  of  several 
valuable   musical   treatises,   and  some   writers  have 
sought  to  invest  him  with  the  honour  of  inventing 
Muris      the  musical  Time-table  ;  but  Burney  has 
aTime-e    disposed  of  that  matter  beyond  reasonable 
table.      doubt.      In  the  first  place,  John  de  Muris, 
although  a  writer  on  Time  characters  in  music,  no- 
where claims  the  honour  of  any   inventions  in  the 
matter  for  himself.     Among  the  MSS.  which  were 
bequeathed   to   the  Vatican   Library  by  one  of  the 
Queens  of  Sweden,  there  is,  as  Burney  points  out,  a 
'  Compendium  of  Practical  Music,'  by  Muris,  in  which 
the  author  treats  of  Time  characters  ;  but,  instead  of 
*  Burney,  '  History  of  Music,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  395. 


VCR  IS'   WRITINGS  293 


claiming  honours  for  himself,  the  writer  sets  forth  a 
chronological  list  of  anterior  musicians,  who  merited 
the  title  of  inventors  in  musical  notation.  That 
Muris  perpetuated  and  preserved  much  relating  to 
notation  that  might  otherwise  have  been  lost  is  in- 
controvertible, and  if  it  is  for  this  labour  only  that 
he  and  other  early  English  writers  are  celebrated, 
the  honour  paid  them  is  well  merited. 

Undoubtedly  the  decision  arrived  at  by  Burney 
concerning  these  writings  is  just  :  '  Though  he 
[Muris]  has  no  title  to  the  first  invention  of  the 
time-table,  he  must  certainly  have  been  a  great  bene- 
factor to  practical  music  by  his  numerous  writings  on 
the  subject,  which  doubtless  threw  new  lights  upon 
the  art,  as  may  be  better  imagined  now  from  the 
gratitude  of  his  successors,  by  whom  he  is  so  fre- 
quently quoted  and  commended.'* 

We  do  not  agree  with  the  learned  historian,  how- 
ever, when  he  depreciates  Muris's  writings  merely 
because  the  lapse  of  years  has  rendered  them 
'  totally  useless  and  almost  unintelligible  '  to  a  later 
generation. 

The  many  musical  works  by  Muris  preserved  in 
MS.  include:   'Practica  Ccuitus  Mensurabilis?  being 

ivi u r-is*  a  treatise  on  time  or  measured  music  ; 
Writings,  t  yj  rs  Summaria  Contrapuncti'  or  a  com- 
pendium of  counterpoint,  in  which  the  term  '  counter- 
point '  is  brought  nearer  to  the  time  of  Guido  than 

*  Burney's  '  History  of  Music,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  198. 


294  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


is  done  by  any  other  theoretical  writer  ;  and  a  third 
work,  '  Theoremata  Musica  Versibus  Explicata,'  or 
musical  theorems  explained  in  verse — all  in  the 
Vatican  Library.  His  most  valuable  treatise  is  the 
'  Tractattis  de  Musica,'  entitled  likewise  'Musica 
Speculativa!  These  manuscript  writings  by  Muris 
are  to  be  found  in  the  Bodleian,  Corpus  Christi 
College,  and  British  Museum  collections,  but  in 
some  instances  they  appear  to  be  duplicates,  and 
not  all  separate  tracts. 

Muris  seems  to  have  been  a  'stickler '  for  accuracy 
in  matters  musical,  as  an  extract  from  the  '  Speculum 
Musica?  a  folio  work  written  on  vellum,  and  con- 
taining six  hundred  pages,  wherein,  among  other 
matters,  Muris  dilates  upon  concords,  well  illustrates. 
He  censures  the  singers  of  his  day  who  dare  to 
descant  or  compose — i.e.,  make  concords  with  their 
voices  by  supplying  another  part  to  the  tenor  or 
plain-song  without  any  knowledge  of  scientific  music. 
In  his  eyes  they  murdered  the  pure,  simple  harmony 
of  his  time,  '  throwing  sounds  about  at  random,  as 
awkward  people  throw  stones  at  a  mark  without 
hitting  it  once  in  a  hundred  times.'  Here  is  the 
good  master  Muris's  Latin  translated  into  sixteenth- 
century  English  :  '  Alas !  in  these  our  dayes,  some 
do  stryve  to  glosse  over  theyr  lacke  of  sky  11  with 
silly  sayenges.  This,  cry  they,  is  the  newe  method 
of  discantynge,  these  be  the  newe  Concordes.  How- 
beit  they  grievously  offend  thereby  both  the  hearing 


TORKSEY  295 


and  the  understanding  of  suche  as  be  skylled  to 
judge  of  theyr  defects  ;  for  where  we  look  for  delight 
they  do  induce  sadnesse.  O  incongruous  sayenge  ! 
O  wretched  glosse  !  Irrational  excuse  !  O  mon- 
strous abuse !  O !  if  the  good  old  maysters  of 
former  tyme  did  hear  suche  descanters,  what  wolde 
they  say  or  do  ?  Out  of  doubte  they  wolde  thus 
chyde  them  and  say,  "  This  discant,  whereof  ye  now 
make  use,  ye  do  not  take  it  from  me ;  ye  do  in  no 
wyse  frame  your  songe  to  be  concordaunt  with  me  ; 
wherefore  do  ye  thrust  yourselves  in  ?  Ye  do  not 
agree  with  me  ;  ye  are  an  adversary  and  a  scandal 
unto  me.  O  that  ye  wolde  be  dumb  !  This  is  not 
corcordyngc  but  most  doatynge  and  delyrious  dis- 
cordynge."  ' 

Such  ruling  is,  of  course,  most  excellent ;  and  as 
harmony  at  its  best,  at  such  an  early  stage,  would 
sound  rather  incongruous  to  modern  ears,  an  insist- 
ence upon  an  accurate  rendering,  free  of  any 
liberties  with  the  original,  may  well  be  pardoned  of 
the  early  authorities. 

Another  name  that  has  escaped  the  general  literary 
neglect  of  his  period  is  that  of  John  Torksey,  or 
Torkesey,  who  rightly  figures  in  the  school  of  First 

John        English  musical  authors.      Burney  refers 

Torksey.     to  a  very  scarce  and  curious  volume  of 

MS.  tracts,   neatly  written  on  vellum,  which,  before 

the     Reformation,    belonged    to    the    monastery    of 

Waltham   Holy  Cross,   in   Essex,  and   containing  a 


296  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


series  of  nine  treatises  by  several  writers,  all  relating 
to  music.  These  would  appear  to  have  been  tran- 
scribed and  collected  by  the  Precentor  of  Waltham 
Abbey  (John  Wylde),  whose  name  appears  on  the 
first  leaf,  and  his  initials,  '  J.  W.,'  on  the  last.  This 
MS.  volume  of  tracts  once  belonged  to  Tallis,  but 
in  Burney's  day  the  valuable  book  was  the  property 
of  the  Earl  of  Shelbourne,  whose  descendants  may 
possibly  still  hold  it.*  One  of  these  tracts,  called 
'  Musica  Guidonis  Monachi,"  is  divided  into  two 
books.  The  first  contains  twenty-two  chapters,  in 
which  the  author  treats  of  the  monochord,  the  scale, 
the  hand,  ecclesiastical  tones,  solmization  and  clefs  ; 
and  ends  with  a  battle  between  B  flat  and  B  natural. 
The  prejudice  and  pedantry  of  the  writer  reach  the 
culminating  point  in  the  second  book,  where  he 
actually  draws  a  parallel  between  the  tone  and  semi- 
tone and  Leah  and  Rachel,  Jacob's  wives.  In 
another  work  entitled  ' De  Origine  et  Effectu  Musica;,' 
the  author  makes  very  great  complaints  against  the 
fashionable  singers  of  the  time,  who,  he  says,  '  cor- 
rupt and  deform  the  diatonic  genus,  by  making  the 
seventh  of  a  key  a  semitone.'  It  becomes  a  curious 
study  to  see  how  the  boldness  of  the  musical  inno- 
vators here  mentioned  was  kept  in  check  by  the 
bigotry  of  those  who  founded  their  opinions  solely 
on  tradition  ;  for,  although  many  practical  musicians 
used  the  semitone,  instead  of  the  whole  tone,  before 
*  Burney's  '  History  of  Music,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  413. 


TORKSEY  TRACT  297 


the  key-note,  in  performance,  none  had  the  temerity 
to  carry  out  the  reform  on  paper.  Perhaps  the  very 
fact  of  its  being  against  the  law  gave  an  additional 
piquancy  to  the  use  of  it  ;  and  thus  we  see  that, 
whilst  the  ponderously  learned  were  endeavouring 
to  imprison  the  art  within  the  narrow  boundary  of 
their  own  authority,  it  was,  in  fact,  almost  insensibly 
eluding  their  grasp,  and  moving  onward  into  freedom 
and  life  beyond.  Among  the  tracts,  and  numbered 
'  V.,'  is  one  entitled  '  Regulce  Magistri  Johan  Tork- 
sey\-  and  another,  *'  VII..'  by  Thomas  Walsingham. 
Torksey's  tract  deals  chiefly  with  the  ancient  time- 
table and  notation  of  the  period,  concords,  and 
discords.  The  author  states  that  though  there  are 
only  three  specific  square  characters  used  in  musical 
notation — the  large,  the  long,  and  the  breve — these 
are  modified  into  six  species  of  simple  notes,  thus  : 


w- 


T 

to  which  are  added  the  equivalent  'rests.' 

By  some  means  Torksey's  name  has  become 
mixed  with  a  John  (or  Thomas)  of  Tewkesbury, 
but  there  is  little  question  of  their  being  distinct 
personages.  In  the  Bodleian  Library  is  a  MS. 
ascribed  to  Thomas  (or  John)  of  Tewkesbury,  at 
the  end  of  which  it  is  stated  that  it  was  finished 
at  the  University  of  Oxford  in  1 35 1 .  A  chapter 
occurs   in   it  headed   '  De  Figuris  inventis  a  Fran- 


298  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


cone'  setting  out  the  labours  of  Franco  in  inventing 
the  time  characters.  Possibly  the  author  of  this 
MS.  was  the  same  John  of  Tewkesbury,  a  musical 
friar,  who  in  the  year  1388  presented  the  book 
called  the  '  Four  Principles  of  Music  '*  to  the  Minor 
Friars  of  Oxford,  by  the  authority  and  consent  of 
Master  Thomas  of  Kingsbury  ;  the  latter  doubtless 
one  who  had  a  taste  for  collecting  either  original  or 
transcribed  musical  MSS.  for  the  benefit  of  the 
monks  and  abbey  of  Tewkesbury.  On  the  whole, 
there  would  seem  to  have  been  at  least  two  musical 
enthusiasts  and  litterateztrs  helping  forward  musical 
matters  at  Tewkesbury  at  about  this  time  :  this 
cultured  friar  and  our  original  author,  Torksey. 

Robert  Handlo  must  not  be  forgotten.  He  was 
another  of  these  native  writers  on  music  early  in  the 
fourteenth  century.  Little  is  known  concerning  the 
Robert  n^e  °f  ^'IS  wortny  beyond  that  he  was  the 
Handle  author  of  a  musical  treatise  dated  1326 
a.d.,  and  entitled  '  Regulce  cum  Maximo  Magistri 
Franconis,  cum  additionibus  aliorum  must'eorum, 
compilatee  a  Robert  de  Handlo  '  —  a  commentary 
upon  Franco's  tract — '  Ars  Cantus  Mensttrabi/zs,' 
with  additional  discoveries  of  other  musicians — 
which  latter  the  contents  hardly  justify.  However, 
it  is  a  scarce  tract,  treating  of  musical  time,  notation, 

*  Tunsted,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  author  of  this 
work,  '  Artis  Musicce  Quatuor  Principalta]  which  was  much 
duplicated,  possibly,  among  others,  by  Torksey  himself;  hence  its 
authorship  has  been  wrongly  ascribed  to  him. 


U'ALSINGHAM'S   WRITINGS  299 


etc.  Unfortunately,  the  original  MS.  was  destroyed 
by  fire  when  Ashburnham  House,  Westminster, 
perished.  Happily,  the  treatise  had  been  copied, 
however,  by  Dr.  Pepusch — the  industrious  German 
musician  working  in  England  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century  —  and  his  transcription  is  in  the  British 
Museum.  Coussemaker  has  printed  the  tract  in  the 
first  volume  of  his  excellent  collection,  '  Scriptorum 
de  Music  a  Medii  sEvi." 

Burney  speaks  depreciatingly  of  Handlo's  work,* 
preferring  the  literal  copying  from  Franco  to  the 
original  annotations  ;  but,  despite  this,  the  book  was 
evidently  regarded  as  a  standard  text-book  for  several 
centuries — -since  Morley,  the  Elizabethan  composer, 
recommends  it,  more  than  two  hundred  years  after, 
in  his  '  Plain  and  Early  Introduction  to  Practical 
Music' 

Another  addition  that  must  be  made  to  the  roll 
of  distinguished  English  writers  upon  music  is 
Thomas    YYalsingham.       In    what    for    distinction's 

sake  we  may  term  the  Waltham  Abbey 
Thomas  J 

Waising-  volume  of  MS.  tracts,  there  is  one  num- 
bered '  VII.  Regulte  Magistri  Thomce 
Walsingham?  This  treatise  deals  with  the  whole 
science  of  notation,  time,  etc.,  of  music  as  it  then 
existed.  Burney  speaks  highly  of  the  work  :  '  Wals- 
ingham  has,  indeed,  taken  great  pains  to  remove 
this  difficulty  (the  measuring  of  such  ancient  music 
*  Burney,  '  History  of  Music,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  195. 


300  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

as  was  composed  before  the  use  of  bars)  by  explana- 
tions and  numerous  examples  in  notes  ;  and  I  do 
not  remember  to  have  seen  such  light  thrown  on 
the  subject  by  any  other  author  before  Morley,  when, 
indeed,  instruction,  except  for  the  perusal  and  per- 
formance of  old  Masters,  was  too  late,  as  the  time- 
table had  undergone  many  changes,  and  composers 
had  learned  to  express  their  thoughts  in  a  new  and 
more  intelligible  manner.'*  This  was  our  Walsing- 
ham. 

Another  interestino-  work,  numbered  '  VIII.'  in  this 
same  volume  of  MSS.,  is  ascribed  to  Lionel  Power, 
and    is    entitled    '  Of   the    Cordis    of   Musike.'       It 

Lionel    appears   to   have  been   written   about   the 

Power.  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Burney 
speaks  of  it  as  'a  short  treatise,  written  in  English, 
and  with  its  Saxon  letters  bearing  marks  of  con- 
siderable antiquity.'  '  It  seems  to  be  the  most 
ancient  musical  tract  that  has  been  written,'  records 
the  learned  historian,  '  or  at  least  preserved,  in  our 
vernacular  tongue.' 

Then  he  proceeds  to  give  an  extract  from  it : 
4  This  Tretis  is  contynued  upon  the  Gamme  for  hem 
that  will  be  syngers,  or  makers,  or  techers.  For 
the  ferst  thing  of  alle  ye  must  kno  how  many  cordis 
of  discant  ther  be.  As  olde  men  sayen,  and  as  men 
syng  nowadayes,  ther  be  nine  ;  but  whoso  will  syng 
mannerli  and  musikeli,  he  may  not  lepe  to  the 
*  Burney,  'History  of  Music,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  421. 


POWER'S  TREATISE  301 

fifteenth  in  no  maner  of  discant  ;  for  it  longeth  to  no 
manny's  uoys,  and  so  ther  be  but  eyght  accordis 
after  the  discant  now  used.  And  whosoever  will  be 
a  maker,  he  may  use  no  mo  than  eyght,  and  so  ther 
be  but  eyght  fro  unison  unto  the  thyrteenth.  But 
for  the  quatribil  syghte  ther  be  nine  accordis  of 
discant,  the  unison,  thyrd,  fyfth,  syxth,  eyghth, 
tenth,  twelfth,  thyrteenth,  and  fyfteenth,  of  the 
which  nyne  accordis  fyve  be  perfyte,  and  fower  be 
imperfyte.  The  fyve  perfyte  be  the  unison,  fyfth, 
eyghth,  twelfth,  and  fyfteenth  ;  the  fower  imperfytt 
be  the  thyrd,  syxth,  tenth  and  thyrteenth  ;  also  these 
maist  ascende  and  decende  wyth  alle  maner  of 
cordis  excepte  two  accordis  perfyte  of  one  kynde  as 
two  unisons,  two  fyfths,  two  eyghths,  two  twelfths, 
two  fyfteenths,  wyth  none  of  these  thou  maist 
neyther  ascende  neyther  descende  ;  but  thou  must 
consette  these  accordis  togedir  and  medele  hem 
wel,  as  I  shall  enform  the.  Ferst  thou  shall  medele 
wyth  a  thyrd  a  fyfth,  wyth  a  syxth  an  eyghth,  wyth 
an  eyghth  a  tenth,  with  a  tenth  a  twelfth,  wyth  a 
thyrteenth  a  fyfteenth  ;  under  the  which  nyne 
accordis  three  syghtis  be  conteyned,  the  mene  syght, 
the  trebil  syght,  and  the  quadribil  syght  :  and  others 
also  of  the  nyne  accordis  how  thou  shalt  hem 
ymagyne  betwene  the  playn  song  and  the  discant, 
here  folloeth  the  ensample — Ferst  to  enforme  a 
chylde  in  hys  counterpoynt,  he  must  ymagyne  hys 
unison  the  eyghth   note  fro  the  playn  song,  benethe 


So: 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


hys  thyrd  ;  the  syxth  note  benethe  hys  fyfth  ;  the 
fowerth  benethe  hys  syxth  ;  the  thyrd  note  benethe 
hys  eyghth,  even  wyth  the  playne-song  ;  hys  tenth 
the  thyrd  note  above,  hys  twelfth  the  fyfth  note 
above,  hys  thyrteenth  the  syxth  above,  hys  fyfteenth 
the  eyghth  note  above  the  playn-song.'  All  of  which 
is  interesting,  undoubtedly,  to  the  student  of  theory, 
and  to  all  acquainted  with  the  intricacies  of  primitive 
harmony  and  counterpoint,  but  not  over-entertaining 
to  the  ordinary  reader  ! 

The  sum  and  substance  of  this  teaching  as  evolved 
by  Burney,  out  of  the  characters  used  by  Master 
Power,  is  the  following,  which,  with  its  flavour  of  old 
ecclesiastical  music,  is  not  unpleasing  : 


^%^%^-^tT^T 


-e- 


-joo. 


■  -&■ 


1  ^^-^'-rJ^-M-^-^^^El— 


■  —e- 


— +-©- 


I=s: 


The  treatise  concludes  with  these  words  :  '  Who 
wil  kenne  hys  Gamme  wel,  and  the  ymagynations 
thereof,  and  of  hys  accordis,  as  I  have  rehersed  in 


FIRST  ENGLISH  THEORISTS  303 

this  Treatise  afore,  he  may  not  faile  of  hys  Counter- 
point in  short  tyme.' — Lyonel  Power. 

The  concluding-  tract,  No.  IX.,  in  this  remarkable 
volume  of  musical  MSS.  is  by  one  Chilston.  It  is 
a   '  Treatise  of  Musical   Proportions  :   their   Nature 

and    Denominations,'    '  ferst    in    English 
Chilston.  ,  .  & 

and  then  m  Latyne,   in  which  the  author 

deals  with  the  philosophy  of  music,  and  goes  over 
much  the  same  ground  as  the  writers  of  the  tracts 
already  mentioned. 

There  was  one  more  musical  author  of  this  First 
English  School  period — /Elred  Theinred,  or  Thin- 
red,  by  name,  who  wrote  an  interesting  and  fairly 

exhaustive    dissertation    on    tones,    keys, 
Theinred.  .    .  . 

and   intervals.      1  his   musical   treatise    is 

entitled  '  De  Lcgitimis  Ordiuibus  Peutachordoruin 
€t  Tetrachordorum?  and  is  preserved  in  the  Bodleian 
Library.  It  bears  date  1371  a.d.  Of  the  life  of 
Theinred  little  more  is  known  than  that  he  was  a 
Benedictine  monk,  and  Precentor  of  his  monastery 
at  Dover.  His  pen,  however,  has  preserved  his 
name,  and  provided  one  more  feature  of  interest  in 
the  early  annals  of  English  music. 

Here,  then,  is  an  array  of  pioneer  authors,  English- 
men beyond  all  reasonable  doubt,  who  wrote  upon 
native  musical  art,  and  helped  to  frame  the  grammar 
or  science  of  written  music  at  a  period  long  before 
the  time  when  other  European  countries  took  up 
the  subject  from  Guido  and   Franco.      The  names  of 


304  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


such  men  and  their  works  deserve  to  be  honoured 
and  perpetuated,  for  they  performed  a  great  task  at 
a  critical  stage  of  music's  history — men  and  makers 
who  it  must  be  declared  have  been  studiously 
avoided  by  foreign  musical  historians,  and  too  easily 
forgotten  by  their  own  countrymen. 

It  will  help  the  reader  better  to  appreciate  the 
musical  situation  that  prevailed  for  a  long  time  in 
England  if  this  feature  of  '  Time  '  about  which  our 
Musical  early  authors  thought  and  wrote  so  much 
'Time.'  js  explained.  The  first  broad  basis  for 
time  in  music  was  the  fixing  of  two  kinds  of  measures 
only- — one  of  three  beats,  called  'perfect  measure,' 
the  other  of  two  beats,  or  'imperfect  measure.'  In 
the  mediaeval  age  the  word  Tempus,  or  time,  marked 
the  relative  durations  of  the  breve  and  semibreve. 
Modus  and  Prolatio — two  other  laws  in  early  time 
canon — affected  the  other  known  notes.  This  was  an 
important  step  towards  the  perfection  of  time  in  music, 
and  as  such  deserves  attention  under  each  head  : 

(a)  Prolation  was  the  system  of  determining 
the  relationship  of  semibreves  to  the  breve,  or 
minims  to  the  semibreve.  The  following  examples 
will  illustrate  this,  and  afford  the  reader  a  sicrht  of 
the  circle  clef,  as  well  as  the  perfect  and  imperfect 
bars  or  measures. 

The  dot  within  the  circle,  or  time  signature,  im- 
plied that  the  time  was  perfect.  The  absence  of 
the  dot  showed  it  to  be  imperfect.     A  whole  circle 


TIME  CHARACTERS 


305 


Major  Pro/at  ion  (Perfect). 


:& 


■&- 


-&- 


Minor  Pro/a/ion  (Perfect). 

— n 

-0 = 


-&- 


-<s>- 


-<s>- 


meant  major,  a  broken  circle  minor.  (/3)  Modus 
was  applied  to  the  system  for  dividing  the  maxima 
note  of  mediaeval  music  into  longs,  and  longs  into 
breves.  Like  Prolatio  and  Tempus,  three  of  a  next 
lesser  quantity  corresponded  to  one  of  the  next 
larger  value,  and  constituted  a  trinary  division,  or  per- 
fect measure.  When  two 
beats  became  the  equiva- 
lent, this  was  a  binary 
division,  or  imperfect  mea- 
sure, (y)  Tempus  was  the 
dividing  of  breves  into 
semibreves. 

Franco  refers  to  notes 
as  '  perfect,'  i.e.,  of  three 
proportionate  durations  ; 
and  '  imperfect,'  or  of  two 
equal  durations,  as  above 
stated.  By  this  division 
musicians  were  enabled  to 
compose  either  in  duple 
or  triple  measure.  In 
perfect  time  the  breve  was 

of  the  value  of  three  semibreves,  while  in  imperfect 
time  the  breve  was  equal  to  two  semibreves.  Per- 
fect and  imperfect  time  were  by  some  writers  also 
denoted  by  a  circle  and  semicircle  respectively,  with- 
out reference  to  dots. 


-O 


The  same  (Imperfect). 


-e- 


T/ie  same  (Imperfect). 


:Q: 


—&- 


m 


This  circle  f\  one  of  the  oldest  time  characters  in 


20 


306  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

early  modern  music,  was  placed  at  the  beginning  of 
compositions,  and  indicated  that  the  time  of  the 
work  was  triple,  or  perfect — and  that  each  note  cor- 
responded to  three  of  the  next  longest  kind.  Some- 
times the  i      ,  had  the  figure  2  attached  to  it — ■(   \ 

A  broken  circle,  (  ,  indicated  imperfect,  or  duple 
time — or  a  note  equivalent  to  two  of  the  next  longest 
species.      It  was  frequently  figured  (  From  this 

broken  circle  came  the  Q  which  marks  all  common 
time  in  modern  music.  The  question  of  the  major 
or  minor  key  had  to  be  gathered  from  the  music 
itself.      Besides  this  circle,  mediaeval  musicians  made 

use  of  the  cypher  -  to  express  the  power  of  three 
semibreves  for  that  of  the  breve  ;  and  of  the  cypher 
-  to  express  the  power  of  three  minims  for  the  semi- 
breve. 

Thus,  from  these  two  broad  divisions  of  time — the 
perfect  and  the  imperfect — we  derive  the  present 
two  principal  kinds  of  time  :  common  time,  with  two 
or  four  equal  parts  in  a  bar,  and  triple  time,  with 
three  equal  parts  in  a  bar — both  of  which  can  be 
subdivided  into  simple  and  compound. 

Something   should   be  said    here   relating   to    the 

musical     instruments    in    vogue    during    the    period 

Grosse-   which     we    are    considering.        When     in 

teste,  the  next  chapter  we  turn  to  Chaucer,  we 
shall  find   him    throwing   much   light    upon  this   in- 


BISHOP  GROSSETESTE 


507 


teresting  aspect  of  English  musical  practice,  which, 
like  other  features  of  the  art,  had  made  great  strides 
since  the  Norman  ingress.  The  Normans  brought 
several  musical  instruments,  and  while  thoughtful 
minds  like  Odington,  Torksey,  and  YValsingham 
were  gathering  the  elements  of  music,  and  shaping 
them  into  intelligible  grammatical  form  and  principle 
for  all  ages,  a  growing  love  for  musical  colouring 
was  deepening  among  the  English  people.  They 
could  not  resist  an  intuitive  passion  for  concords 
and  sweet  song,  and  as  every  new  instrument  came 
within  their  hearing,  it  was  welcomed  with  delight, 
and  soon  found  its  especial  friends.  The  harp  was 
a  particular  favourite,  and  was  regarded  as  an  in- 
strument of  great  virtue,  as  the  following  episode 
related  of  Grosseteste,  the  learned  and  pious  Bishop 
of  Lincoln,  who  died  in  1253  a.d.,*  indicates: 

.    '  I  shall  telle  as  I  have  herde 

Of  the  bysshope  Seynt  Roberde, 
Hys  toname  (surname)  is  Grosteste, 
Of  Lynkolme,  so  seyth  the  geste. 
He  lolde  moche  to  hear  the  harpe, 
For  marines  wytte  it  makyth  sharpe. 
Next  hys  chambre,  besyde  hys  study, 
Hys  harper's  chambre  was  fast  thereby. 
Many  times,  by  nightes  and  dayes, 
He  had  solace  of  notes  and  layes. 

*  A  legend  of  bells  heard  in  the  sky  by  several  people  on  the 
night  of  Grosseteste's  death,  in  the  autumn,  testifies  to  the  regard 
in  which  he  was  held  by  the  people. 


308  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


One  askede  hem  the  resun  why 

He  hadde  delyte  in  minstrelsy : 

He  answerede  hem  on  thys  manere 

Why  he  helde  the  harpe  so  dere — 

"'The  vertu  of  the  harpe,  through  skylle  and  ryght, 

Wil  destrye  the  fendy's*  might : 

And  to  the  Cros  by  gode  skeyl 

Ye  the  harpe  lykened  weyl. 

Therefore,  gode  men,  ye  shall  lere 

Whan  ye  any  gleman  here 

To  wurschep  God  at  your  powere, 

As  Davyd  seyth  in  the  Sautere, 

In  harpe  and  tabour  and  symphan  gle. 

Wurschep  God,  in  trumps  and  sautre, 

In  cordes,  in  organes,  and  bells  ringyng 

In  all  these  wurschepe  the  hevene-Kyng." ' 

We  are  indebted  mostly  to  the  art  of  illumination 

for  nearly  all  that  we  know  respecting  early  English 

musical  instruments.     This  art  was  largely  followed 

Early       m  England  by  the  religious  orders.      The 

Inltru-      eai"ly  poets  and  authors  have  left  us  many 

ments.     references    to    the    instruments    in    their 

wondrous  language,  but  it  was  the  monks  and  patient 

cultured  souls  in  the  convents  and  monasteries  who 

gave  us  the  actual  delineation   of  the  instruments. 

Through  long  hours  of  the  day  and  night  did  the 

monks  in  the  scriptorium  labour  over  the  pages  of 

missals   and    religious   books,    which    testify   to    the 

loving  zeal   of   those   who    painted   their  wondrous 

colours    and    illuminations.      In   this   way   have   the 

forms    and    details    of    instruments    been    recorded, 

*  Fiend's. 


REGALS- SMALL  ORGASS 


3°9 


which  might  otherwise  only  have  come  down  to  us 
bv  name. 

It  is  probable  that  the  representations,  where 
met  with,  in  these  old  religious  books  are  strictly 
accurate,  so  exact  were  the  ungrudging  workers 
who  copied  and  engrossed  them.  These  were 
almost  invariably  ecclesiastics,  however,  and  this 
fact  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  considering  the 
development  of  early  English  musical  instruments. 
The  priests  and  monks  were  determinedly  opposed 
to  secular  music,  tending  as  it  did  to  divert  attention 
from  sacred  art,  and  for  this  reason  would  do  nothing 
to  perpetuate  worldly  instruments  ;  apart  from  which 
the  fitness  of  things  would  permit  them  to  introduce 
into  the  ecclesiastical  books  representations  of  such 
instruments  only  as  were  allowed  in  the  Church 
service.  Instrumental  material  was  more  extensive 
and  varied,  therefore,  than  the  manuscripts  and  illu- 
minations of  the  period  would  seem  to  show. 

The     organ 


coming- 


was 

more  into  use 
in  thechurches, 
and  favour  was 
gradually  ex- 
tending     to- 


REGALS,   OR   SMALL   PORTABLE   ORGANS. 


wards  the  regal,  a  small  portable  organ.  Another 
name  given  to  this  instrument  was  '  portatives,'  lrom 
the   Latin  verb  portare,   to  carry.      A   reference   to 


3io 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


it   occurs   in   the   poem  of  the  Hoblctte,    written   in 

1450  a.d.  : 

1  Clarions  loud  knellis. 
Portativis  and  bellis.' 

This  illuminating  was  performed  in  the  scrip- 
torium of  the  monastery.  There,  in  charge  of  the 
ckartularius  or  superintendent,  sat  the  artist-scribes, 

who  worked  wondrous  colourings 
in  the  antiphonaries  and  missals. 
The  music   was  written  with  the 

words  in  con- 
nected lines, 
and  over  these 
the  neumes,  or, 
when  invented, 
the  musical  notes.  The  first  letter 
of  every  antiphon  or  psalm  was 


^^ 


portative,  ok  portable,  richly   illuminated.      Occasionally 

ORGANS. 

one  whole  line,  or  even  two,  was 
coloured  ;  or  six  letters  would  be  painted  red,  another 
six  blue,  the  next  six  green,  and  so  on.  The  letter 
at  the  beginning  of  every  piece  always  received  the 
greatest  attention  from  these  patient  monks,  and 
some  of  these  initial  letters  are  marvellous  specimens 
of  taste  and  talent.  Not  only  are  colours  of  great 
richness  and  rare  blending  employed,  but  frequently 
gold  and  precious  stones  are  worked  into  these 
illuminations  with  vast  effect.  The  initial  T  was  a 
much-favoured  letter,  and  in   some  religious  books 


REFERENCES  TO  ORGANS  311 

this  extends,  like  a  great  tree,  over  the  top  and  sides 
of  the  page,  storing  all  that  is  written  under  it. 

The  skill  and  materials  for  this  workmanship  would 
almost  seem  to  have  perished  with  the  workers. 
The  beautiful  colours  were  mostly  produced,  how- 
ever, with  pigments  made  of  gums,  cinnabar,  pyrites, 
juices  of  herbs,  varnish,  indigo  and  ochre.  The 
beautiful  black  notes  and  lettering — superior  to  our 
common  black  ink  concoctions — was  made  of  soot 
or  ivory  black  mixed  with  water. 

The  accounts  and  inventories  of  churches  and 
private  establishments  abound  with  entries  relating 
to  the  care  or  repairs  of  organs  during  the  thirteenth, 
fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries. 

Gervase,  the  monk  of  Canterbury,  referring  to 
the  burning  of  the  cathedral  in  1 1 74,  tells  of  the 
destruction  of  its  orsjan,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
at  this  date  primitive  instruments  were 
general  in  the  abbeys  and  churches  of 
the  country.  At  St.  Alban's  and  Croyland  it  is  re- 
corded that  there  were  '  organa  solemnia  in  introita 
ecclesise  superius  situata,'  and  smaller  organs  were  in 
the  choir,  hence  the  term  '  choir-organ.'  Chaucer's 
references — 

'  His  vois  was  merrier  than  the  merry  organ 
On  masse  days  that  in  the  churches  gon. 

1  And  while  that  organs  maden  melodie 
To  God  alone  thus  in  her  heart  sung  she ' 

— imply   that  they  were  common  enough    when  he 


312 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


wrote.  Sometimes  two  organs,  one  large,  the  other 
small,  were  placed  in  the  church.  Such  was  the 
case  in  the  fourteenth  century  at  Uley  Church, 
Gloucestershire,  where  a  monk  or  clerk,  not  a  lay- 
organist,  accompanied  the  Plainsong. 

Frequent  entries  in  parish  records  supply  incon- 
trovertible proof  of  the  wide  use  of  the  organ 
throughout  England.  An  interesting  entry  is  that 
in  the  accounts  of  Ely  Cathedral  for  the  year  1407, 
wherein  the  Precentor  accounts  for  items  employed 
in  making  the  organ.  These  particulars  supply  a 
clue  to  the  calibre  of  these  early  organs ;  but 
quantities  and  money  values  differed  so  much  from 
ours,  and  the  details  were  often  so  slight,  that  we 
must  not  draw  hasty  conclusions  as  to  results  there- 
from : 


£ 

s. 

d. 

20  stones  of  lead 

0 

16 

9 

4  white  horses'  hides  for  4  pairs  of  bellows 

0 

7 

8 

Ashen  hoops  for  the  bellows 

0 

0 

4 

10  pairs  of  hinges 

0 

1 

10 

The  carpenter  8  days  making  the  bellows 

0 

2 

8 

12  springs 

0 

0 

•-> 

0 

1  pound  of  glue   ... 

0 

0 

1 

1  pound  of  tin 

0 

0 

0 

6  calf  skins 

0 

2 

6 

12  sheep  skins 

0 

2 

4 

2  pounds  of  quicksilver 

0 

2 

0 

Wire,  nails,  cloth,  hoops,  and  staples  ... 

0 

1 

0 

Fetching    the    organ  -  builder    and    his    board 

» 

13  weeks 

0 

40 

0 

Total 

£3 

17 

8 

LOANING  OF  ORGASS  313 


From  these  memoranda  it  is  more  likely  that  they 
were  for  repairs,  and  that  it  was  the  '  expense  of 
making  good  an  organ  '  rather  than  the  building  of 
a  new  instrument  for  which  the  materials  were 
required.  They  are  manifestly  insufficient  for  an 
average  fourteenth-century  instrument,  especially 
such  a  one  as  would  be  required  in  a  cathedral. 

A  curious  custom  appears  to  have  prevailed  in 
these  early  times,  which,  while  it  redounds  to  the 
good  nature  and  feeling  prevailing  among  neigh- 
bouring ecclesiastics,  also  throws  light  upon  the 
construction  and  portable  character  of  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  century  organs.  One  church  used  to 
lend  its  organ  to  another  church.  Thus,  in  the 
accounts  of  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster,  for  the 
year  1508,  we  find  an  item  'For  bringing  the 
Organs  of  the  Abbey  '  (evidently  the  portable 
instruments  of  the  Westminster  foundation)  '  into 
the  church,  and  beryng  them  home  agayne  ijV.' 
Not  an  extravagant  expenditure,  it  is  true,  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  money  values  in  those 
days  were  different  from  what  they  are  now,  and 
twopence  may  have  been,  after  all,  only  a  porter's 
'  tip.'     Another  entry  is  : 

'  1485.  To  John  Hewe,*  for  repairing  the  organ  at  the  altar  of 
B.V.M.  in  the  Cathedral  Church,  and  for  carrying  the 
same  to  the  House  of  the  Minorite  Brethren,  and  for 

*  John  Hewe,  organ-builder,  was  born  at  York  in  1485,  and 
was  probably  a  son  of  the  above.  William  Wotton  was  another 
organ-builder. 


314  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

bringing    back  the    same   to   the   Cathedral    Church, 
13s.  gd.' 

Such  instrumental  aid  indicates  that  the  organs 
were  placed  in  close  proximity  to  the  singers — a 
natural  and  desirable  arrangement,  which  should  not 
have  been  departed  from  even  nowadays,  and  from 
which  we,  no  doubt,  get  the  term  '  choir '  organ. 

Matthew  Paris,  the  English  historian,  who  died 
in  1259,  speaks  of  a  species  of  musical  instrument 
called  '  bourdons '  which  were  in  use  in  the  church 
of  St.  Alban's  in  his  day  ;  and  probably  other 
churches  of  importance  were  similarly  supplied. 

The  bellows  in  the  early  instruments  appear  to 
have  been  a  perpetual  trouble  to  the  clergy,  for 
entry  after  entry  occurs  of  disbursements  for  repairs. 
The  rodent  tribe,  not  less  active  in  those  clays  than 
now,  and  with  considerably  more  freedom  for  their 
proclivities  and  antics,  played  even  greater  havoc 
with  the  leather  joints  than  they  do  now,  necessitat- 
ing constant  patching  and  mending.  Consequently 
there  are  repeated  entries  in  the  old  books  like  the 
following  : 

'  1419.  For  constructing  two  pair  of  bellows  for  the  organ, 
46^.  Sd.' 

'  For  constructing  the  ribs  of  the  bellows  of  the  same  organ,  by 
John  Cowper,  i2d.' 

1  1457.  To  John  Roose  [the  first  authenticated  English  organ- 
builder]  ,  brother  of  the  Order  of  Preaching  Friars, 
who  repaired  and  restored  the  organ  at  the  altar  of  the 
B.V.M.  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  the  City  of  York, 
and  one  pair  of  bellows  for  the  same,  36^.  Sd.' 


EARLY  ORGAN  PARTICULARS  315 

'  1469.  To  brother  John  for  constructing  two  pair  of  bellows  for 
the  great  organ,  and  repairing  of  the  same,  i$s.  2d.' 

An  excellent  example  was  set  in  these  early  times 

of  bequeathing  gifts  of  organs  and  money  for  their 

repair  to  churches.     Sometimes  the  choristers  were 

not  forgotten.      One  such   bequest  appears  in   the 

accounts  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Sandwich,  as  early 

as  1444  : 

'  1444.  Ressd  the  bequeath  of  Thomas  Boryner  unto  a  payre  of 
orgonys,  iiij//.' 

Another  item  is  : 

'  1463.  I  wille  y  eche  man  yl  syngyit  prykked  songe  on  ye  daye  of 
my  enterment  at  our  ladyes  messe  had  ijd.,  and  ye 
players  at  ye  organys  ijd.,  and  eche  childe  }d.,  and  yl 
yei  preyid  to  dyner  the  same  day.' 

In  1475  Lord  John  Beauchamp  willed 

'  xx  marks  to  be  bestowed  in  vestments  and  stuff,  besides  an 
organ  of  my  own.' 

About  the  year  1450  Abbot  Whethamstede,  of 
St.  Albans,  gave  what  must  have  been  a  princely 
sum  in  those  days,  namely,  ^50,  for  an  organ 
for  the  Abbey.  Similar  instances  of  liberality  on 
the  part  of  pious  clergy  and  churchmen  abound  in 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  benefactions 
which  reflect  the  cultured  tastes  not  less  than  the 
piety  and  goodness  of  the  large-hearted  donors. 
Well-known  London  and  country  churches  whose 
archives  hold  some  of  these  interesting  particu- 
lars are:  Westminster  Abbey;  St.  Mary-at-Hill, 
London;    St.     Andrew's,     Eastcheap ;    St.    Helen's, 


;i6 


THE  STORY  GF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Bishopsgate  ;  Allhallows,  Barking  ;  St.  Margaret's, 
Westminster ;  St.  Andrew's,  Holborn  ;  Magdalen 
College,  Oxford  ;  York  Cathedral  ;  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Cambridge  ;  Winchester  Cathedral  ;  Holbeach 
Church,  Lincolnshire ;  Ely  Cathedral  ;  Worcester 
Cathedral  ;  and  many  others. 

Among  wind  instruments  besides  the  organ  were 
the  horn,  trumpet,  bagpipes,  and  flageolet.  The 
drum  and  tabor  were  popular,  as  was  also  that 
peculiar  instrument  the  hurdy-gurdy.  Bells  were 
employed  both  for  sacred  and  secular  musical  pur- 
poses. They  were  generally  in 
chimes  of  five  small  bells,  which 
were  suspended  from  a  frame  and 
played  by  means  of  hammers.  Cym- 
bals were,  no  doubt,  common  enough, 
although  representations  of  them 
do  not  appear  in  the  early  MSS. 
Of  stringed  instruments  there  were 
several.  The  old  crwth,  identified 
with  England's  musical  history  from 
the  first,  was  very  popular  at  this 
period.  It  was  generally  a  three- 
stringed  instrument,  played  with  a 
bow,  and  therefore  a  sort  of  primi- 
tive violin.  With  the  English  min- 
strels it  was  a  favourite,  just  as  its  equivalent,  the 
rota,  was  with  the  wandering  musicians  of  France 
and   Germany.      In  addition    to   the  crwth  and   the 


AN  ANGEL  PLAYING 
UPON  A  THREE- 
STRINGED     GIGUE 

(T  hirteenth 
century). 


SECCLAR  MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS  317 


harp,  already  referred  to,  there  were  the  viol,  the 
gigue  or  fiddle,  the  psaltery  or  shawm,  which  was  a 
dulcimer  played  with  one  or  two  plectrums  or  with 
the  fingers,  and,  lastly,  the  rote  or  zither,  sometimes 
called  the  cittern.  Our  poet,  John  Gower  [1320 — 
1402],  contemporary  with  Chaucer,  mentions  the 
1  giterne,'  which  was  probably  the  guitar.  Another 
instrument  to  which  he  makes  reference  is  the 
cytolen  or  citole — i.e.,  the  zithern  or  cither — an 
instrument  that  is  chiefly  popular  in  Switzerland  at 
the  present  day,  though  of  late  years  it  has  been 
brought  again  into  England.  Such  was  mainly 
the  instrumental  material  which  gladdened  the  hearts 
of  music-lovers  in  England,  and  helped  to  make  life 
brighter  and  better  here  in  far-off  days  of  five 
hundred  years  ago. 

Principal  Authorities. 

'History  of  Music'  -         -  Burney. 

'  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians'  Brown. 

'  English  Songs '  Ritson. 

1  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time '  Chappell. 

'  Social  England  '     -  Cassell. 

'History  of  Music' -         -         -         -  Naumann  and  Ouseley. 

'Anecdotes  of  Music'      -         -         -  Burgh. 

'History  of  England'        -         -         -  Hume. 

'  Musical  Instruments'      -         -         -  Engel. 

'History  of  Music'  -         -  -  Hawkins. 

,,    ,      r  .     ...       ,  ( Baring-Gould  and 

'Songs  and  Ballads  of  the  W  est        -  |  sheppbard 

,  fBroadwood  and 

'  County  Songs  -  -  ,  Kuner-Maitland. 

The  Musical  Times  -  Novello. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SECOND  PERIOD— ENGLISH  SCHOOL    TO   TUDOR 

TIMES. 

Historians  and  the  Grammatical  Development  of  Music — The 
Nature  of  Early  Musical  Materials — England's  Share  in 
formulating  Music — The  Unshaped  Natural  Music— First 
Grammar  and  Polyphonous  Music — The  Borderland  of 
Descriptive  Music — Raw  Material — Chaucer — The  '  Can- 
terbury Tales' — Chaucer's  Musical  References — The  'Angelus 
ad  Virginem'  Song — Davy  andLongland's  References — Native 
Reasoning  Musicians — Dunstable — Tinctoris  on  Dunstable — 
Hamboys — The  Supposed  First  English  '  Doctor  of  Music ' — 
Saintwix — Abyngdon — His  Several  Appointments — Abyng- 
don  the  First  Cambridge  'Bachelor  of  Music' — Hothby — His 
Treatises— Wydow  or  Wydewe — Music  at  the  Accession 
of  Henry  V. — King  Henry's  Objection  to  Street-music — 
The  Agincourt  Victory  Song — Its  Words  and  Music — 
Edward  IV.  founds  the  Chapel  Royal  and  King's  Band — 
Edward  IV.  and  his  Minstrels — -Minstrels  in  Private 
Families — Dress  and  Pay  of  the  Last  Minstrels — Dr.  Bull's 
Epitaph  on  the  Wandering  Musicians — Reaction  in  Secular 
Music— A  Thirteenth-century  Dance  Tune — Sparseness  of 
Early  Secular  Music— The  Explanation — -The  Invention  of 
Printing — Its  Influence  upon  Music — Caxton  and  Wynken 
de  Worde's  First  Music  Types — '  Sumer  is  icumen  in  '  to 
Dunstable  hiatus. 

Historians  invariably,   but  erroneously,  credit   the 
Netherlanders   with   the   honour  of  giving   musical 


GRAMMATICAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MUSIC         319 

art  its  grammatical  foundation  and  early  develop- 
ment in  the  rising  Middle  Age  years  which  preceded 
Musical  that  Renaissance  period  following  the  fif- 
Graandiar  teentn  and  sixteenth  centuries.  Music, 
Theory,  youngest  of  the  arts,  was  just  beginning 
to  assert  itself  at  the  close  of  the  Mediaeval  period, 
and  we  have  to  state  that  England  played  a  great 
and  worthy  part  in  that  movement. 

It  will  often  have  occurred  to  inquiring  minds  how 
music  came  to  be  so  far  behind  other  arts  in  its  rise 
and  development  as  a  science  and  art  at  this  time. 
Yet  the  explanation  is  not  far  off.  Unlike  the  art 
of  the  poet,  sculptor,  painter,  and  preacher,  there 
were  no  materials  at  hand  upon  which  to  base  a 
tangible  musical  record  and  argument  until  learning 
and  science  had  made  great  headway.  Music  had 
to  find  its  materials  out  of  other  arts,  sound  not 
being  tangible  in  form  and  materialistic  in  the  sense 
that  wood  or  stone  is. 

Then,  again,  being  a  mathematical  and  theo- 
retical art,  no  foundations  could  be  laid,  nor  a 
structural  form  given  to  music,  until  a  vast 
amount  of  speculation  and  calculation  had  been 
propounded,  worked  out,  tested,  and  reduced  to  rule. 
The  deductions  drawn  and  approved  became  the 
first  base  of  a  formulated  theoretical  system.  It  is 
manifest  that  such  an  elementary  musical  grammar 
could  onlv  come  when  learning  and  education 
generally  had   made  some  headway  here,  which  was 


320 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


long  after  some  of  the  most  brilliant  periods  in  the 
history  of  other  arts  and  sciences. 

With  musical  material  and  the  means  of  its  ex- 
pression once  formed,  the  art  took  eagle's  pinions, 
never  stopping  in  its  great  upward,  onward  course. 
All  that  the  Eastern  nations,  the  Greek  philosophers, 
or  the  improvisatores  had  done  for  music  was  but  little 
compared  with  the  great  art  which  it  almost  immedi- 
ately became  as  soon  as  it  was  once  a  book-study. 
The  Greek  scales  and  Gregorian  tones,  with  their 
bare  monodic  character,  were  as  nothing  compared 
to  the  idea  of  formulating,  regulating,  and  inter- 
weaving the  same.  This  notion  supplied  the  grand 
starting-point   of  the   glorious   structure   of  musical 

art  of  to- 
day, and 
in  gene- 


ra t  i  n  g 
and  de- 
veloping 
this  con- 


HUNTINC,  WITH  HOUND  AND  HORN. 

(From  carving  tinder  a  seat  in  the  choir  of- Sherborne  Minster, 
time  of  Edward  III.) 


ception 
England 


played  a 

greater  part  than  did  any  other  country.  Secular  music 
— the  folk-song,  the  ballad,  the  traditional  tunes,  dance 
tunes,  indoor  and  outdoor  music  of  all  kinds — existed 
here  in  abundance  ;  but  this,  with  the  hymns  and 
tunes  of  the  Church,  lacked  one  great  aid — it  could 


FORMULATING  MUSIC 


not  be  perpetuated,  accurately  recorded,  and,  beyond 
all,  logically  expressed.  Whatever  had  been  the 
case  with  the  original  Britons  and  Welsh  in  the 
matter  of  musical  systems,  nothing-  of  the  kind 
existed  in  England  at  the  period  which  we  are  con- 
sidering— that  time  when  music,  especially  secular 
music,  was  an  unregulated,  ill-ordered,  shapeless  art 
throughout  the  country.  There  were  instruments, 
tunes,  and  dance  rhythms  without  number,  but  there 
was  no  method  of  husbanding  all  this,  of  making  it 
the  vehicle  of  a  reasonable  art,  or  of  using  it  in  com- 
bination and  in  order,  according  as  varying  circum- 
stances and  conditions  required.  This  vocal  and 
instrumental  material  might  be  to-day  where  it  was 
four  hundred  odd  years  ago  save  for  the  happy 
thought  that  overtook  men's  minds  of  moulding  the 
art  into  a  shape  which,  while  it  would  be  understand- 
able to  all  musicians,  would  permit  of  development 
at  the  hands  of  those  who  applied  themselves  par- 
ticularly to  theory  and  composition. 

Theoretical  art  needed  the  early  labours  of  native 
theorists  like  Dunstable  and  others  to  effect  a  vast 
change  in  the  region  of  music.  What  the  English 
and  subsequently  the  Netherlands  theorists  accom- 
plished meant  the  first  opening  up  of  that  vast  mine 
of  polyphonous  realism  in  musical  art  which  has 
yielded  the  priceless  tone-treasures  which  we  possess 
to-day.  From  such  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  century 
speculations  and  deductions  came  the  general  accep- 

21 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


tance  of  music  as  a  science.  '  Sumer  is  icumen  in  ' 
had  been  written  long  before,  but  it  was  an  excep- 
tional native  mind  among  a  small  band  of  native 
composers  that  produced  this  fine  piece  of  part-music, 
— a  sample  of  polyphonous  art  that  is  unequalled  by 
any  Continental  work  of  the  period,  and  which  proves 
that  there  was  in  England,  as  early  as  the  thirteenth 
century,  a  school  of  musicians  which  was  in  advance 
of  anything  possessed  by  the  Netherlands  at  the 
same  period.  With  the  labours  of  Dunstable  and 
other  early  contrapuntists,  theoretical  music  became 
a  worthy  subject  for  study,  and  men  with  the  highest 
reasoning  instincts  devoted  their  attention  to  it — one 
gradually,  but  surely,  improving  upon  another,  until 
the  grammar  of  harmony  and  science  of  counterpoint 
and  fugue  was  evolved  and  gathered  within  the 
prescribed  limits  of  text-books,  each  one  of  which 
did  but  serve  as  the  basis  for  another. 

Yet  it  was  not  the  formulating  of  theories  and  the 
perfecting  of  a  musical  science  merely  which  made  the 
labours  of  the  English  and  Netherlands  theorists  of 
this  period  so  valuable.  The  growth  of  mensural 
music,  the  controlling  of  melodic  outline,  and  then 
the  laws  by  which  four-part  music  could  be  con- 
structed, gave  us  the  empty  habitation — the  struc- 
tural edifice,  with  its  walls  and  rooms.  But  the 
whole  wanted  furnishing — making  comfortable,  en- 
joyable. 

This  bare  art  state  was  what  our  early  theorists 


COLOUR  AXD  TOXE-PAIXTLXG  323 

remedied.  We  were  not  to  have  merely  a  language 
wherewith  music  could  be  expressed  according  to 
approved  law  and  rule,  but  this  systematized  art  was 
to  assume  its  chief  quality,  that  character  which  gives 
it  the  power  of  fullest  poetical  expression.  A  severe 
mathematical  music  svstem,  evolved  from  rules  classi- 
fied  and  arranged,  was  by  no  means  to  be  despised ; 
vet  it  was  immeasurablv  more  valuable  and  satis- 
factory  for  musicians  of  such  early  times  to  find 
themselves  upon  the  borderland  of  descriptive,  illus- 
trative music.  All  the  colouring  element  of  secular 
musical  resource — vocal  and  instrumental — was  at 
the  will  of  the  composer.  With  part-writing  en- 
joined and  practised,  composers  could  begin  to  give 
colour  and  effect  to  their  compositions,  not  only  by 
an  extension  of  the  voice  parts,  but  by  drawing  upon 
the  instrumental  resources  at  hand,  which  were  plen- 
tiful and  varied  enough,  especially  in  secular  musical 
walks. 

It  is  true  that  our  early  theorists  did  not  avail 
themselves  greatly  of  this  material,  so  that  the 
growth  in  musical  colour  and  tone-painting  was  slow 
indeed ;  but  this  is  attributable  to  sacred  music 
almost  solely  occupying  their  attention.  Here 
colour  and  effect  were  proscribed  rather  than  en- 
couraged, and  the  introduction  of  orchestral  aid, 
other  than  the  droning  organ,  was  unallowable. 
Largely  as  secular  music  was  practised  by  the  people, 
and    numerous   as    the    popular    instruments    were, 


324  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

some  time  elapsed  between  the  fixing  of  our  musical 
grammar  and  the  labours  of  our  first  contrapuntists 
ere  they  entered  the  domain  of  secular  art  to  give 
rein  to  their  ingenuity  and  fancy.  For  very  many 
years  secular  art  went  along  independent  of  Church 
music,  prescribed  rule,  method  or  order.  It  still 
remained  the  improvised  art  of  the  travelling  musi- 
cian, the  inborn  accomplishment  of  the  lad  and  lass 
of  the  village.  Only  here  and  there  in  England  was 
there  an  inquiring  mind,  a  cultured  man  of  letters 
and  philosophy,  willing  to  devote  himself  to  the 
labour  of  divining  and  investigating  the  possibilities 
of  this  wondrous  science — music.  We  shall  see  pre- 
sently who  were  these  reasoning  musical  minds. 

Fittingly  enough,  England's  first  great  poet, 
Geoffrey  Chaucer  (i  328-1400),  supplies  us  with 
some  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  scanty  material 
that  we  possess  relating  to  music  in  Eng- 
land. This  '  father  '  of  English  poetry — 
superior  to  Gower  or  other  contemporaries,  and  un- 
surpassed until  Shakespeare  arrived,  for  his  lan- 
guage, perspicuity,  and  versification — never  tires  in 
his  reference  to  music,  musicians,  and  musical  in- 
struments. If  he  was  not  a  practical  musician  him- 
self, he  was  the  next  best  thing  to  it,  since  he  was  a 
close  observer  of,  and  great  enthusiast  in,  all  that 
related  to  the  art  and  its  bearing  upon  the  national 
life  and  character.  The  candid  Caxton  declared 
that  '  for  his  swate  wrytyng  in  our  tongue  he  may 


CHA  UCER  325 


well   have   the   name  of  a  laureat  poete,'   which  the 
musical  author  of  to-day,  indebted  as  he  is  to  Chaucer 
for  much    light    upon   an   interesting  period   in  the 
national  musical  history,  will  do  more  than  endorse. 
If  we   may  judge  of  the  estimation  in  which  music 
was   held  by  our  countrymen  during  the  fourteenth 
century  from  the  writings  of  Chaucer,  it  must  have 
been  at   least  equal   to  that  of  any  other  epoch  of 
their  history  ;    for  throughout  his    works  he  never 
loses   an   opportunity  of  describing,    or  alluding_to_ 
its  general  use,  and  of  bestowing  it  as  an  accomplish- 
ment upon  the  pilgrims,  heroes  and  heroines  of  his 
several   tales   and    poems,   whenever  he  can   do   so 
with  propriety. 

Chaucer  for  his  powers  of  observation  and  know- 
ledge of  mankind  has  seldom  been  surpassed  in  any 
age,  and  the  uncontrolled  imaginative  mind  of  the 
poet  might  readily  lay  him  open  to  draw  upon  a  vast 
accumulation  of  knowledge  not  necessarily  always 
indigenous  to  the  soil  concerned.  Thus,  Dr.  Burney 
very  properly  observes  that  '  as  this  venerable  bard 
was  frequently  an  imitator  and  translator  of  French 
and  Italian  writers,  whose  works  have  already  been 
shown  to  abound  with  passages  relative  to  music,  both 
vocal  and  instrumental,  some  deduction  should  per- 
haps be  made  for  what  he  says  of  it  in  stories  not  of 
his  own  invention,  and  where  the  scene  is  laid  in 
foreign  countries.* 

*  '  History  of  Music  '  (Burney),  vol.  ii.,  p.  372. 


526 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


This  precautionary  mood  need  not  be  extended 
to  his  '  Canterbury  Tales,'  wherein  all  the  characters 
he  so  nicely  delineates  and  discriminates  are  Eng- 
lish. We  may  safely  regard  as  national,  and  take 
to  ourselves,  all  the  virtues, 
vices,  defects,  and  accomplish- 
ments, whatever  they  may  be, 
with  which  he  has  invested 
them.  Few  readers  are  un- 
acquainted with  the  Muse. 
Twenty  -  nine 


persons  of 
both  sexes,  of 
p  r  ofessions 
and  employ- 
ments as  dif- 
ferent as  in- 
vention could 
suggest,  to- 
gether with 
Chaucer  him- 
self, making 
out    from    the 


GEOFFREY     CHAUCER. 
(From  Harleian  MS.) 


in    all    thirty,    are    supposed    to    set 
Tabard    Inn,    in    Southwark,*  on    a 

*  Formerly  the  lodging  of  the  Abbot  of  Hyde,  near  Winchester. 
The  sign  tabarde  signified  a  short  jacket,  or  sleeveless  coat,  open 
on  both  sides,  with  a  square  collar,  and  'hanging  sleeves.'  The 
tabarde  was  the  proper  habit  of  a  servant,  and  all  the  knaves  in  a 
pack  of  cards  are  so  dressed.  The  host  in  Chaucer's  time  was 
Henry  Bailie,  a  merry  fellow,  who  was  blessed  with  a  shrew  for 
his  wife.  This  circumstance,  however,  did  not  stifle  all  his 
humour,  judging  by  the  quantity  Chaucer  drew  from  him. 


CHA  UCER  REFERENCES  327 


pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  St.  Thomas- a- Becket, 
in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Canterbury.  This 
motley  company  consisted  of  a  knight,  a  'squire — 
his  son,  and  his  yeoman — or  servant ;  a  prioress,  a 
nun,  and  three  priests — her  attendants  ;  a  monk,  a 
friar,  a  merchant,  a  clerk  of  Oxford,  a  serjeant-at- 
law,  a  franklin — or  gentleman,  a  haberdasher,  a  car- 
penter, a  weaver,  a  dyer,  a  tapiser — or  maker  of 
tapestry,  a  cook,  a  ship-man — or  master  of  a  trading 
vessel,  a  doctor  of  physic,  the  wife  of  a  weaver  of 
Bath,  a  parson,  a  ploughman — or  farmer,  a  miller,  a 
manciple,  a  reeve,  a  summoner,  a  pardoner,  and 
Chaucer  himself — who  was  a  courtier,  a  scholar,  and 
a  poet.     Quite  a  bright  lot  to  go  a-tramping ! 

Most  of  these  were,  after  the  manner  of  the 
times,  endowed  with  some  musical  ability,  or,  if 
not,  Chaucer  at  least  credits  them  with  it.  Thus, 
the  'squire,  besides  possessing  every  courtly  quali- 
fication necessary  in  those  days — 

'  Singing  he  was  or  floyting*  all  the  day.' 

In  addition  to  which 

'  He  ande  songes  make,  and  well  endite 
Justef  and  eke  dance,  and  wel  pourtraie  and  write.' 

Then  the  dainty,  cynical,  '  mincing  '  prioress 
does  not  escape.  Of  her  and  her  chanting  we 
learn  : 

*  Fluting.  t  Fence. 


328  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

1  And  she  was  cleped  Madame  Eglantine  ; 
Full  wel  she  sange  the  service  divine 
Entuned  in  hir  nose  ml  swetely,' 

the  last    two    lines  being  generally  true  respecting 
a  nun's  singing. 

The  monk  was  a  jolly  fellow  and  sportsman  to 
boot,  whose  music  began  and  ended  with  the 
sounds  of  hoofs,  hounds,  and  the  clanging  of  bits 
and  spurs  : 

'  And  whan  he  rode,  men  mighte  his  bridel  here 
Gingering  in  a  whistling  wind  as  clere 
And  eke  as  loud  as  doth  the  chapel  belle.' 

The  mendicant  friar,  called  also  a  limitour  {i.e., 
a  friar  licensed  to  beg  within  a  certain  district), 
possessed  qualities  which  rendered  him  a  universal 
favourite  : 

'  And  certainly  he  hadde  a  mery  note 
Wel  coude  he  singe,  and  plaien  on  the  rote — 
In  his  harping,  when  that  he  had  songe, 
His  eyes  twinkeled  in  his  head  aright, 
As  dou  the  starres  in  a  frosty  night.' 

The  Oxford  clerk  was  a  model  : 

'  Sonning  in  moral  virtue  was  his  speech 
And  gladly  would  he  learn,  and  gladly  teach.' 

So  fond  was  he  of  books  and  study,  that  he  loved 
Aristotle  better 

•  Than  robes  riche,  or  fidel,  or  sautrie,' 

and  every  parson  might  do  worse  than  emulate  him. 


THE  PARDONER  329 


The  miller,  too,  was  a  musician  : 

c  A  baggepipe  wel  couthe  he  blowe,  and  soun 
And  therewithal  he  brought  us  out  of  town.' 

The  summoner  and  pardoner  both  sang.  To  the 
one  Chaucer  gives  a  coarse  bass  voice,  while  the 
other,  just  arrived  from  Rome,  without  a  beard,  sings 
as  a  soprano  : 

'  A  vois  he  had  as  small  as  hath  a  gote.' 

After  tellino-  us  that  he  sung".  '  Come  hither,  love, 
to  me,'  which  was  probably  the  beginning  of  a 
favourite  song  at  that  time,  the  poet  adds  : 

'  This  sompnour*  bare  to  him  a  stiff  burdoun,! 
Was  never  trump  of  half  so  great  a  soun.' 

It  would  seem  that  the  pardoner  himself  put  no 
small  estimate  upon  his  powers,  since  he  thus 
jovially  announces  his  own  style  in  the  pulpit : 

'  Lordings,  quoth  he,  in  church  when  I  preach, 
I  paine  me  to  have  a  hautain  speech. 
And  ring  it  out  as  round  as  goeth  a  bell, 
For  I  can  all  by  rote  that  I  tell.' 

The  pardoner's  singing  in  church  did  not  escape 
Chaucer's  observation  : 

'  He  was  in  church  a  noble  ecclesiast: 
Well  could  he  read  a  lesson  or  a  story, 
But  alderbest  he  sang  an  offertory  ; 


*  Summoner  or  apparitor.  t  I.e.,  sings  the  bass. 


33o  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


For  well  he  knew  when  that  song  was  sung 
He  must  preach  and  well  afile  his  tongue 
To  win  silver,  as  he  right  well  could, 
Therefore  he  sang  the  merrier  and  loud.' 

In  the  pardoner's  tale  is  the  earliest  mention  by 
any  English  author  of  the  lute  : 

'  In  flanders  whilom  was  a  campagnie 
Of  yonge  folk,  that  haunteden  folie, 
As  hazard,  riot,  stewes,  and  tavernes  ; 
Whereas  with  harpes,  lutes,  and  giternes 
They  dance  and  play,'  etc. 

The  parish  clerk's  instruments  in  the  miller's  tale 
are  adapted  to  his  profession.  On  the  whole,  he 
must  have  been  a  merry  fellow,  for 

1  In  tunsty  manir  culth  he  trip  and  daunce, 
After  the  scole  of  Oxenford  (Oxford)  tho', 
And  with  his  legges  casten  to  and  fro, 
Could  playen  songes  on  a  small  ribible  ;* 
Thereto  he  song  sometime  a  loud  quinible,t 
And  as  well  could  he  play  on  a  giterne.' 

Of  the  same  individual's  singing  we  learn  : 

'  He  singeth  brokking,|  as  a  nightingale.' 

The  poor  scholar,  Nicholas,  is  a  performer  on  the 
psaltry.  Among  his  other  talents  was  that  of  being 
able  to  sing  well  : 

'  And  all  above  there  lay  a  gay  psaltry, 
On  which  he  made  on  nightes  melody 


*  The  diminutive  of  rebec,  a  small  viol  with  three  strings, 
f  A  cantabile.  %  Quavering. 


'king's  \ote;  or  chaxt  royal 


^  ^  T 


So  sweetly,  that  all  the  chamber  rung, 
And  Ange/us  ad  Virgi/ic/u*  he  sung  ; 
And  after  that  he  sung  the  kinges  note  :t 
Full  often  blessed  was  his  merry  throet.' 


Not  less  happy  is  Chaucer 
in  his  serious  descriptions  of 
singing.  Of  a  pious  young 
Christian  boy,  passing  daily 
through  the  Jewry,  he  says  : 

'  This  little  child,  as  he  came  to  and 
fro, 

Full   merrily  then   would   he 
sing  and  crie 

O    Alma    Redemptoris  I       /■/£!, 
ever  mo  [more]. 

The  sweetness  hath  his 
hearte  pierced  so 

Of  Christe's  Mother,  that 
to  her  to  pray, 

He  cannot  stint  of  sing- 
ing by  the  way.' 

CHAUCER   AS  A  CANTERBURY    PILGRIM. 

And  he  has  a  still  more  beautiful  passage  upon  a 
holy  woman  singing  devoutly  : 

'  And  while  that  the  organs  maden  melody, 
To  God  alone  thus  in  her  heart  sung  she.' 

Chaucer  speaks  of  the  muse,  Polyhymnia,  as 

*  The  angels'  salutation  to  the  Virgin  (Luke  ii.  28),  of  which 
more  anon. 

f  '  King's  Note,'  or  Chant  Royal,  was  an  appellation  given  to 
poems  on  lofty  subjects. 


332  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

'  Singing  with  voice  memorial  in  the  shade, 
Under  the  laurels,  which  that  may  not  fade.' 

Elsewhere  he  says  : 

'  And  as  I  sat  the  birdes  hearkening  thus, 
Methought  that  I  heard  voices  suddenly, 
The  most  sweetest  and  most  delicious 
That  ever  wight  I  trow  truely 
Hearden  in  their  life ;  for  the  harmony 
And  sweet  accord  was  in  so  good  music, 
That  the  voices  to  angels  most  were  like.' 

Even  the   singing  of  the   birds  did   not  slip  his 
attentive  ear  : 

'  I  was  waked 
With  smalle  fowles  a  great  heap, 
That  had  affray'd  me  out  of  my  sleep 
Through  noise  and  sweetness  of  their  song ; 
And  as  me  met*  they  sat  among 
Upon  my  chamber  roof  without, 
Upon  the  tiles  o'er  all  about, 
And  ever  each  sunge  in  his  wise 
The  most  sweet  and  solemn  service 
By  note  that  ever  man  I  trow 
Had  heard,  for  some  of  them  sang  low, 
Some  high,  and  all  of  one  accord  ; 
To  tellen  shortly,  at  one  word.' 

Poet-musician  that  he  was,  he  heard  and  felt  music 
in  all  around  him  : 

1  There  heard  I  playing  on  a  harp 
That  ysounded  both  well  and  sharp, 
Him  Orpheus  full  craftily  ; 


*  Dreamed. 


CHAUCER  AND  MINSTRELSY 


JOJ 


And  on  this  other  side  fast  by 

Ysat  the  harper  Orion, 

And  Gacides  Chirion, 

And  other  harpers  many  one, 

And  the  Briton  Glaskirion, 

And  smalle  harpers  with  their  glees, 

Sat  under  them  in  divers  sees  ;* 

And  gone  on  them  upward  to  gape, 

And  counterfeited  them  as  an  ape, 

Or  as  Craft  counterfeiteth  Kind.' 

The  father  of  English  poesy,  in  his  own  quaint 
fashion,  has  noted  the  wearisomeness  of  monotony 
in  music — of  playing  perpetually  the  same  thing  : 

1  For  though  that  the  best  harper  upon  live 
Would  on  the  beste  sounded  jolly  harp 
That  ever  was,  with  all  his  fingers  five 

Touch  aye  one  string,  or  aye  one  warble  harp, 
Were  his  nailes  pointed  never  so  sharp, 
It  shoulde  maken  every  wight  to  dull 
To  hear  his  glee,  and  of  his  strokes  full.' 

Chaucer  has  multiplied  mentions  of  Minstrelsy  : 

'  Before  them  stood  such  instruments  of  soun' 
That  Orpheus,  nor  of  Thebes,  Amphioun, 
Ne  maden  never  such  a  melody  : 
At  every  course  in  came  loud  minstrelsy, 
That  never  Joab  trumped  for  to  hear, 
Nor  he,  Theodomas,  yet  half  so  clear 
At  Thebes  when  the  city  was  in  doubt.' 

'  And  before  them  went  minstrels  many  one, 
As  harpes,  pipes,  lutes,  and  psalt'ry, 
Alle  in  green  ;  and  on  their  heades  bare, 
Of  divers  floweres  made  full  craftily, 

*  Seats. 


334  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

All  in  a  suit,  goodly  chaplets  they  wear, 

And  so,  dancing,  into  the  mead  they  fare ; 

In  mid  the  which  they  found  a  tuft  that  was 

All  overspread  with  floweres  in  compas, 

Whereto  they  inclined  every  one 

With  great  reverence,  and  that  full  humbly ; 

And  at  the  last  there  began  anon 

A  lady  for  to  sing  right  womanly 

A  bargaret*  in  praising  the  daisy  ; 

For  (as  methought)  among  her  notes  sweet 

She  said  "Si  douce  est  la  Marguerite!" 

Then  they  all  answered  her  in  fere,f 

So  passing  well  and  so  pleasantly, 

That  it  was  a  most  blissful  noise  to  hear.' 

Golden  singer  of  a  far-off  age  !  What  need  have 
we  of  further  quotation  from  him  to  show  either  the 
artist  mind  of  this  fourteenth-century  lyrist,  or  to 
prove  the  wide  reach  of  the  harmonious  art  and  its 
general  acceptance  and  appreciation  by  all  ranks  of 
Englishmen  in  an  age  when  this  country,  if  we  judge 
wholly  from  the  estimate  of  foreign  historians,  was 
supposed  to  be  without  a  shred  of  musical  worth  or 
status  ? 

Chaucer's  evidence  is  invaluable  for  this  epoch, 
furnishing  as  it  does  so  much  information  upon  the 
internal  musical  life  of  the  country.  His  references 
to  the  instruments  and  musical  methods  are  all 
thoroughly  English,  not  the  borrowed  colourings  of 
other  countries'  art.  From  them  we  learn  that  in 
the  convents  the  nuns  sang  the   service  to  musical 

*  A  pastoral  ditty.  t  Together. 


7.Y.YS  OF  COURT  MUSIC 


*5  "*  C 


notes,  and  that  the  lute,  the  rote,  the  fiddle,  the 
sautre,  the  bagpipe,  the  cittern,  the  ribible,  the 
trumpet,  the  clarion,  and  the  flute,  were  instruments 
in  common 
use.  Other 
instruments  of 
the  time  were 
the  shalm  or 
shawm,  the 
c  i  t  o  1  e,  the 
hautboy  or 
wayte  (from 
which  comes 
the  present- 
day  term  '  the 
waits '),  the 
horn,  shep- 
herd's pipe, 
sackbut,  dul- 
cimer, etc.  The  organ,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
introduced  into  the  churches  many  centuries  before 
the  time  of  Chaucer.  The  terms  'treble,'  '  counter- 
tenor,' 'tenor,'  and  'bass,'  which  he  uses,  show  us 
that  four-part  singing  was  common  enough  ;  besides 
which,  that  excellent  habit  of  meeting  together 
for  mutual  vocal  harmony  also  prevailed.  This 
was  especially  the  case  with  the  students  at  the 
Inns  of  Court,  where,  we  are  informed,  besides 
studying  jurisprudence,   '  there   they  learnt  to  sing 


THE    HUNT   IS    UP. 
(From  bas-reliefs  under  seats  of  the  choir  in  Ely  Cathedral.) 


336  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

and    to    exercise    themselves    in    all    kinds    of   har- 
mony.'* 

It  is  on  record,  too,  in  the  statutes  of  New 
College,  Oxford,  drawn  up  by  the  founder,  William 
of  Wykeham,  in  1380,  that  the  scholars  shall  'amuse 
themselves  by  singing  in  the  hall  after  dinner,  on 
festival  days '  ;  and,  doubtless,  this  greatly  tended  to 
the  advancement  of  music,  and  specially  of  part- 
singing,  at  the  University. 

Dr.  Burney,  passing  over  the  famous  Round, 
'  Sumer  is  icumen  in,'  and  ignorant,  probably,  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  Latin  hymn  of  the  Annunciation, 
Angelus  ad  Virginem,  states  that  '  no  English 
music  in  parts  is  preserved  so  ancient  as  the  time 
of  Chaucer, 't  yet  leans  to  the  opinion,  by  the 
manner  in  which  Chaucer  describes  a  concert  of 
birds,  \  that  full — that  is,  part — music-services  in 
churches  were  common  enough  in  Chaucer's  time. 
Here  is  his  authoritv  : 

'  And  everiche  song  in  his  wise 
The  most  swete,  and  solempne  servise 
By  note,  that  evir  man  I  trowe 
Had  herde,  for  some  of  hem  songe  lowe, 
Some  highe,  and  all  of  one  accorde.' 

Coupling  such  evidence  as  these  MSS.  supply 
with  Chaucer's  references,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  the  worthy,  industrious  Doctor  was  correct  in 

*  De  Landibus  Legitm  Anglicc,  cap.  49. 
t  '  History  of  Music,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  380. 
\  '  Dream  of  Chaucer,'  v.  301. 


'ANGELUS  AD   VIRGIXEM 


337 


surmising  that  vocal  harmony  was  in  vogue,  at 
any  rate,  in  the  Church  services  in  Chaucer's  day. 
It  is  highly  improbable  that  composers  would  write 
harmony — and  such  exists  in  two  and  three  parts  in 
the  A ii oc /us  ad  Virrinem — if  it  was  not  intended  to 
be  sung,  and  since  the  construction  of  the  organs 
would  produce  this,  there  is  good  ground  for  accept- 
ing the  opinion  of  the  famous  historian  on  this  point. 
The  reference  which  Chaucer"  makes  in  his  de- 
scription of  the  poor  Oxford  scholar,  Nicholas — who 
to  soften  the  loneliness  of  his  chamber  turned  be- 
times to  music's  consoling  power 
— introduces  us  to  a  valuable  piece 
of  documentary  musical  evidence 
which  appears  to  have  long  es- 
caped the  notice  of  the  historian 
and  antiquary.  The  lofty  subject 
— which  he  sang  so  noticeably, 
and  doubtless  accompanied  on  the 
psaltery — the  Angelus  ad  Vir- 
gincm,  was  an  Anglo-Saxon  Latin 
hymn,  setting  out  the  story  of  the 
Annunciation  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 
It  supplies  one  further  link  in  the 
chain  of  English  musical  history — a  much  dislocated 
and  disjointed  record,  towards  the  establishing  of 
which  each  piece  of  indubitable  proof  becomes  of 
priceless  value.      Wonderful  to  relate,  too,  it  takes  us 


PERFORMER  ON  A  PSAL- 
TERY OF  THE  FOUR- 
TEENTH  CENTURY. 


*    i 


Canterbury  Tales.' 


22 


338  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


back  to  the  earliest  days  of  England's  school  of  com- 
position— the  First  School  Period  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  when  '  Sumer  is  icumen  in  '  was  composed, 
and  when  this  country  indisputably  owned  creative 
musical  talent  of  the  highest  order,  although  so  little 
of  it  has  survived  by  name  or  example.  On  this 
account,  then,  and  because  it  supports  what  has  been 
adduced  respecting  '  Sumer  is  icumen  in ' — with  all 
its  early  ingenuity  and  learning — this  composition 
will  appeal  to  all  lovers  of  ancient  music,  particularly 
the  champions  of  the  English  school. 

When  the  Oxford  scholar,  in  his  loneliness,  sits 
beguiling  the  hours  by  chanting  the  Angelus  ad 
Virginem,  he  is  sounding  a  melody  that  was  written 
more  than  a  hundred  years  before — a  tune  which, 
like  many  an  Ave  Maria,  had  perhaps  become 
familiar  enough  in  the  churches.  The  date  of  the 
MS.  has  been  approximately  fixed  at  1250  to 
1260,  or  within  twenty  years  of  the  famous  North- 
umbrian Round,  or  '  Reading  Rota,'  as  it  is  called. 

Sir  John  Hawkins  makes  no  mention  of  this  com- 
position in  his  '  History  of  Music,'  nor  does  Dr. 
Burney  in  his  voluminous  work,  for  the  very  good 
reason  that  they  did  not  know  of  its  existence.  It  was 
a  treasure  of  the  Norfolk  family,  one  of  the  Howards 
presenting  it,  together  with  other  valuable  MSS.,  to 
the  Royal  Society,  who  a  hundred  years  or  so  ago 
transferred  it  to  the  British  Museum,  where  it  was 
numbered    248    in    the    Arundel    MSS.    Collection. 


•A.XGELIS  AD   VIRGINEM'  MELODY  339 

There  it  attracted  the  attention  of  Mr.  Henry  Brad- 
shaw.  F.S.A.,  librarian  of  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge, and  subsequently  the  Chaucer  Society  had 
the  hymn  photographed. 

There  are  five  stanzas  in  the  Latin  and  five  in  the 
English  version  of  the  words  appended  to  the  MS. 
The  following  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  whole  : 

•  Gabriel  fram  [h]evene['s]  king 
sent  to  the  maid[en]  swete, 
brou[gh]te  hir  blisful  tiding 

and  faire  he  'gan  hir  grete  : 
Heil  be  thu,  ful  of  grace  ari[gh]t ! 
for  Godes  sone  this  [hjevene  light 
for  mannes  loven 
wil  man  bicomen, 
and  taken  fles[h]  of  the  maiden  bri[gh]t, 

mank[ind]  fre  for  to  make 
of  sinne  and  devil's  mi[gh]t.' 

The  following  gives  the  melody  of  the  hymn, 
which,  considering  its  antiquity,  can  scarcely  be  said 
to  be  crude,  or  to  sound  altogether  foreign  to  modern 
ears.  On  the  contrary,  there  is,  here  and  there,  a 
particular  home  flavour  about  the  tune — one  re- 
calling the  true  Church  spirit  and  character  so 
strongly  present  in  the  Elizabethan  age  composers  : 

An  -  ge  -  lus  ad     Vir  -  gi-nem,  Sub  -  intrans  in       con       -      cla  -  ve, 

1    p  ,i  _uu4^=  I 


Vir  •  gi  -  nis  for  -  mi  -  di-nem  De  -  mul  -  cens  in  -  quit \  -  ve. 


34° 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


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It  remains  to  be  added  that  the  music  is  written  in 
timeless  notes,  but  so  exactly  over  the  words  that 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  barring  the  notes  by  the 
metre  of  the  verse.  This  was  the  course  universally 
adopted  before  music  had  notes  of  definite  duration 
in  proportion  to  others.  One  peculiarity  of  the 
writing  should  be  noted — that  where  the  accent  falls 
upon  a  long  vowel,  two  notes  are  placed  close 
together,  as  if  the  singer  were  to  iterate  the  note. 

The  book  containing  this  piece  has  also  three 
Latin  motets  and  a  beautiful  English  hymn,  '  Quen 
of  euene  for  ye  blisse  '  (Queen  of  Heaven  for  the 
Bliss).  The  MSS.  are  in  the  thirteenth-century 
handwriting,  beautifully  penned.  This  volume  and 
the  Reading  book  are  the  sole  records  remaining  to 
us  of  the  existence  of  the  First  English  School  of 
Music  that  flourished  about  1 200-1250. 


FOl'RTEESTH-CES'TURY  MUSICAL  METHODS      341 

Chaucer  is  not,  however,  the  only  author-witness 
to  musical  names  and  customs  of  the  day.  Adam 
Davy  of  Stratford-by- London,  who  flourished  circa 
1  31  2,  writes  : 

'  Mery  it  is  in  halle  to  here  the  harpe, 
The  mynstrall  synge,  the  jogelour  carpe.' 

Another  author,  Lang-land  {circa  1300-1370),  the 
reputed  author  of  the  '  Vision  of  Pieres  Plowman,' 
reproaches  himself  for  not  being  better  qualified 
in  the  art,  thus  showing  that  it  was  still  somewhat 
of  a  disgrace  not  to  be  musically  educated  and  dis- 
posed in  these  early  days  : 

'  Ich  can  nat  tabre,  ne  trompe,  ne  telle  faire  gestes, 
Ne  fithelyn,  at  festes,  ne  harpen  ; 
Japen  ne  jagelyr,  ne  gentilleche  pipe  ; 
Nother  sailen,  ne  sautrien,  ne  singe  with  the  giterne.' 

Yet  there  was  music  in  the  soul  of  Longland,  or  he 
could  not  have  written  such  alliterative,  descriptive 
verse  as  that  quoted. 

During  the  fourteenth  century  all  the  rhymes  and 
narratory  poems  were  still  sung  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  harp.  The  habit  of  reciting  ballads  or 
historical  poems  even  crept  into  the  public  cere- 
monies. Bishop  Adam  de  Orleton,  on  visiting  the 
Priory  church  of  St.  Swithin,  Winchester,  was  forced 
to  listen  to  a  Danish  giant  story,  and  a  trial  by  fire 
narrative,  accompanied  on  the  harp  by  one  Herbert, 
as  a  part  of  the  festivities  of  the  occasion. 

But   to   return    to   reasoning    musical    art.      John 


342  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Dunstable*    (i.e.,    John     born    at    Dunstable)    is    a 

notable    name    in    Early    English     musical    annals. 

With  him  we   meet  the    founder  of  the 
Dunstable. 

Second  School  of  English  Music.     'The 

father  of  English  contrapuntists,'  as  he  has  been 
called,  was  born  about  the  year  1400,  and  died  in 
1458.  Both  a  composer  and  writer,  his  chief  work 
was  the  '  De  Mensurabi/es  Musical  which  Thomas 
Ravenscroft,  Mus.  Baa,  and  other  writers  of  the 
succeeding  century,  quoted  and  referred  to  as  a 
standard  work  on  music.  This  tract  is,  however, 
lost.  Until  quite  recently  the  examples  extant  of 
Dunstable's  music  were  the  quotations  made  by 
Gafforius  and  Morley.  A  specimen  of  his  work,  a 
three-part  song,  O  Rosa  Bella,  is  to  be  found  in  MS. 
at  the  Vatican  Library,  and  the  British  Museum 
possesses  two  examples  from  his  pen.  One  is  an 
enigma,^  nmng  UP  a  Page  (folio  18),  and  signed, 
'  Od  Dunstable.'  The  other  is  a  three-part  com- 
position in  a  volume  which  once  belonged  to 
Henry  VIII.j  Four  of  this  master's  compositions 
are  also  to  be  found  in  the  Liceo  Filarmonico  di 
Bologno  Collection. 

Dunstable  was  not  only  a  musician,  but  a  mathe- 
matician and  eminent  astronomer,  while  a  tract  in 
the  Bodleian  Library  proves  him  to  have  been  also 

*  Also  named  Dunstaple,  '  John  of  Dunstaple,'  and  erroneously 
confounded  by  Marpurg  and  other  writers  with  St.  Dunstan. 
t  Treatises  on  Music,  Add.  MSS.  10,336. 
\  Add.  MSS.  31,922. 


DUNSTABLE  343 


an  authority  upon  geography.  He  was  buried  in 
the  Church  of  St.  Stephen,  Walbrook,  London,  in 
1458.  The  following  epitaph,  written  by  John  of 
Whethamstede,  Abbot  of  St.  Albans,  and  placed  on 
record  by  Weaver,  is  one  of  two  which  have  long 
preserved  the  fame  of  this  musician  : 

'  Musicus  hie  Michalus  alter ;  novus  et  Ptholomeus, 
Junior  ac  Atlas  supportans  robore  caelos, 
Pausat  sub  cinere ;  melior  vir  de  muliere 
Nunquam  natus  erat ;  vicii  quia  labe  carebat  : 
Et  virtutibus  opes  possedit  vincus  omnes. 
Cur  exoptetur,  sic  optandoque  precetur 
Perpetuis  annis  celebretur  fama  Johannis 
Dunstapil ;  in  pace  requiescat,  et  hie  sine  fine.'* 

The  other,  Stowe  says,  was  inscribed  on  '  two 
faire  plated  stones  in  the  Chancele,  each  by  other.' 
It  runs  : 

'  Claudit  hoc  tumulo,  qui  Caelum  pectore  clausit 
Dunstaple  I.,  juris,  astrorum  conscius  illo 
Judice  novit  hiramis  abscondite  pandere  coeli 
Hie  vir  erat  tua  laus,  tua  lux,  tua  musica  princeps 
Quique  tuas  dulces  per  mundum  sperserat  onus, 
Anno  Mil.  Equater,  semel  L  trias  jungito  Christi. 
Pridie  natale  sidus  transmigrat  ad  astra 
Suscipiant  proprium  civem  cceli  sibi  cives.' 

All  trace  of  Dunstable's  tomb  disappeared  with 
the  Great  Fire  of  London. 

Kiesewetter,  in  his  history,f  makes  no  mention  of 
Dunstable    when    treating   the    Dufay    epoch   (13S0- 

*  'Funeral  Monuments'  (Weaver),  1631  edition,  p.  577. 
t  '  History  of  the  Modern  Music  of  Western  Europe.' 


344  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

1450)  of  musical  art  ;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  while  this  first  or  ancient  Netherlands  school  was 
growing  up,  forming  and  cementing  the  principles  of 
contrapuntal  art,  England  was,  both  before  and  con- 
temporaneously, helping  in  the  work.  If  there  was 
a  Dufay,  a  Binchois,  and  an  Ockenheim  improving 
counterpoint,  and  otherwise  raising  the  low  state  of 
theoretical  music,  there  was  also  a  Dunstable — an 
Englishman  occupied  with  quite  as  valuable  labours 
in  the  department  of  mensural  and  figural  music.  The 
credit  of  this  has  not  been  given  to  England  by 
historians  generally  't  but,  happily,  we  have  not  only 
Dunstable's  writings,  but  also  the  evidence  of  a  con- 
temporary musician,  to  prove  this. 

The  reader  will  know  that  early  in  the  fifteenth 
century  the  Abbe  Baini,  of  the  Pontifical  Chapel, 
sent  to  Belgium  for  some  Netherlands  musicians  to 
perform  at  Rome  a  Mass  written  in  their  particular 
style.  Among  these  musicians  was  Johannes  Tinc- 
toris  (1434- 1 5 20),  who  became  a  celebrated  teacher 
in  Italy,  and  it  was  he  who  bore  testimony  to  Dun- 
stable's labours  at  the  renaissance,  or  revival,  of 
learning  period  in  the  following  terms  :  '  Cujus,  ut 
ita  dicam,  novae  artis  fons  et  origo  apud  Anglicos, 
quorum  caput  Dunstaple  exstitit,  fuisse  exhibetur,  et 
huic  contemporanei  fuerunt  in  Gallia  Dufai  et  Bin- 
chois.' (The  source  and  origin  of  this  new  [form  of 
musical]  art,  if  I  may  so  speak,  is  to  .be  found  among 
the  English,  of  whom  the  chief  musician  was  Dun- 


SECOND  PERIOD  ENGLISH  SCHOOL  345 

stable,  with  whom  Dufay  and  Binchois  were  contem- 
poraries in  France.)* 

Dunstable  could  not  have  invented  counterpoint 
however,  inasmuch  as  several  works  upon  it  were 
written  before  he  was  born. 

Many  writers,  Gafforius,  Morley,  and  Ravenscroft, 
among  other  of  Dunstable's  immediate  successors, 
quote  from  his  writings,  and  make  reference  to  his 
compositions,  so  that  he  must  have  been  highly 
regarded  both  as  a  theoretical  writer  and  composer. 
He  rendered  valuable  services  to  theoretical  art  in 
ridding  it  of  the  obnoxious  successions  of  fifths,  per- 
fect and  imperfect,  and  octaves,  with  which  all  early 
music  abounded  ;  in  simplifying  the  voice  parts,  and 
in  encouraging  a  steadier  and  more  effective  ilow  of 
the  music  generally. 

Morley  later  on  charged  Dunstable  with  the  great 
offence  in  the  composer's  art  of  separating  the 
syllables  of  the  same  word  by  rests,  but  Burney  easily 
refutes  this.  He  is  of  opinion  that  Morley  was  so 
eager  to  make  a  pun  on  the  name  of  Duns-table  that 
he  did  not  sufficiently  consider  the  passages  which 
he  censured.  Nothing  can  now  shake  the  deserved 
reputation  of  Dunstable.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
he  was  a  distinguished  Englishman  at  the  head  of  a 
Second  Period  in  that  school  of  music  in  England 
which  preceded  the  Netherlanders  and  Burgun- 
dians.  The  most  recent  Dunstable  researches  have 
*  Proportionate  (Tinctoris). 


346  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

been  made  by  Mr.  Barclay  Squire,  of  the  British 
Museum,  who  has  lately  discovered  a  large  collection 
of  Dunstable  MSS.  in  the  Modena  Library.  Here, 
in  what  was  the  library  of  Hercules  II.,  Duke  of 
Modena  in  147 1,  have  been  found  no  less  than 
thirty-one  motets  by  Dunstable  and  seventeen  by 
other  English  composers,  copies  of  all  of  which  have 
been  made  by  Mr.  Squire  and  deposited  at  the  British 
Museum. 

Another  Dunstable  discovery  was  made  somewhat 
earlier  than  this.  By  a  lucky  accident  Dr.  Haberl, 
of  Ratisbon,  came  across  these  Dunstable  MSS. 
when  searching  for  materials  for  his  Dufay  biography. 
In  the  capitular  archives  of  Trent,  in  Austrian 
Tyrol,  he  found  six  large  volumes  of  fifteenth-century 
music — a  complete  anthology  of  the  best  music  of 
the  day.  No  sooner  was  this  known  than  Mr. 
Squire  went  to  Trent  (1889),  and  copied  fourteen 
motets  and  a  French  chanson  of  undoubted  Dun- 
stable music.  The  Austrian  Government  placed  an 
embargo  on  the  copies,  urging  that  their  publication 
would  diminish  the  pecuniary  value  of  the  originals, 
a  restriction  which  it  is  hoped  will  some  day  be 
removed.  This  was  the  music  that  constituted 
the  '  new  art '  which,  a  contemporary  authority 
declared,  originated  in  England.  No  wonder  that 
Dunstable's  name  became  one  of  more  than  local 
celebrity. 

Following    upon     Dunstable     was    John     Ham- 


HAH  BOYS  347 


boys.*  whose  exact  birth  and  death  dates  are  unre- 
corded, although  Holinshed  refers  to  him  as  flourish- 
ing in   the   reign  of  Edward    IV.  (1461- 
Hamboys.       &  &  .  TV    7 

1483).      Other  authors — Pits  and   Bale — 

fix  him  under  the  year  1470,  which,  however,  would 
be  towards  the  end  of  his  life. 

He  is  generally  believed  to  have  been  the  first 
English  musician  on  whom  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Music  was  conferred — 1463.  This  point  it  will 
always  be  difficult  to  determine,  however,  inasmuch 
as  that  at  this  time  there  also  lived  Thomas  Saintwix 
— born  about  the  year  1430.  He  was  a  Doctor  of 
Music  of  Cambridge,  and  was  appointed  Provost  of 
King's  College  in  that  University,  a  record  which, 
being  quite  in  order,  gives  some  weight  to  his  right 
to  be  considered  the  first  English  '  Mus.  Doc' 

Possibly  Hamboys  may  have  graduated  at  Oxford 
—  this  does  not  appear — when  it  would  have  been 
possible  for  him  to  take  precedence  of  Saintwix  in 
the  possession  of  this  coveted  academical  degree. 
The  names  of  no  Oxford  musical  graduates  are 
recorded  before  the  sixteenth  century,  which  is 
strange  indeed,  if  such  degrees  were  conferred  ;  but 
Holinshed,  in  enumerating  the  most  eminent  men  of 
learning  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  includes  '  John 
Hamboys — an  excellent  musician,  who,  for  his  notable 
cunning  therein,  was  made  a  Doctor  of  Music. 'f 

*  Spelt  also  Hambois  and  H?nboys. 
t   'Chronicle,'  vol.  ii.,  p.  1355. 


348  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Whether  he  was  musician  enough  to  compose  a 
song  in  six  or  eight  parts  and  publicly  perform  the 
same  'tarn  Vocibusquam  Instrumentis  etiam  Musicis' 
— the  qualifying  test  in  Dr.  Burney's  day — or  whether 
he  passed  honoris  causa,  is  not  known  ;  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  he  was  the  author  of  two  tracts  in  Latin  : 
'  Summuni  Artis  Musices  '  and  '  Cantionum  Artifi- 
cialum  diversi  Generis.'* 

Abyngdont  (Henry)  belongs  also  to  this   famous 

period  in  our  national  musical  history.      He  was  an 

English  ecclesiastic  and  musician  who 
Abyngdon. 

became  Sub-Cantor  of  Wells  Cathedral, 
on  November  24,  1447,  which  post  he  filled  until 
his  death,  September  1,  1497. 

In  1465  Abyngdon  was  appointed  '  Master  of 
the  Song '  at  the  Chapel  Royal,  London,  which  he 
held  conjointly  with  the  Succentorship  of  Wells, 
from  which  we  may  conclude  that  his  services  as  a 
musician  were  much  appreciated.  This  latter  ap- 
pointment brought  him  in  an  annual  salary  of  forty 
marks — a  sufficiently  weighty  matter  to  occupy  the 
attention  of  Parliament  in  those  days  (1473-74).  In 
the  year  1478  the  Mastership  of  St.  Catharine's 
Hospital,    Bristol,    became    vacant,    and   Abyngdon 

*  The  exact  period  at  which  the  distinction  of  '  Doctor  of 
Music '  was  instituted  in  England  is  a  debated  point.  One 
authority,  Wood,  in  his  '  History  of  Oxford,'  says  that  the  '  Mus. 
Doc'  degree  was  first  conferred  by  Henry  II.  Spelman  believes 
it  to  belong  to  the  reign  of  King  John,  circa  1207. 

t  Spelt  also  Abingdon,  Habengton,  and  Habingdon. 


A  BY XG DOS'  349 


was  elected  thereto,  thus  adding  another  to  his  plu- 
rality of  appointments.  His  duties  at  this  latter 
institution  have  not  transpired,  but  doubtless  they 
were  of  a  similar  nature  to  those  occupying  the 
attention  of  the  Foundling  Hospital  organist  to-day. 
Nothing  is  known  of  the  wo,rks  of  this  musician, 
but  he  is  believed  to  have  composed  Church 
rather  than  secular  music.  He  is  credited  with 
being  the  first  musician  admitted  to  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Music  at  Cambridge.  This  was  in  1463, 
when  Abyngdon's  name  is  traced  as  proceeding  to 
that  faculty.  From  the  fact  that  so  little  is  known 
of  his  compositions,  it  is  possible  that  he  gave  but 
sparse  time  to  composition  ;  indeed,  his  widely 
separated  duties,  unless  exceptionally  light,  would 
have  precluded  much  writing.  But  there  is  another 
explanation.  Abyngdon's  forte  was  singing  and 
organ-playing  : 

'  Millibus  in  mille  cantor  fuit  optimus  ille, 
Prreter  et  haec  ista  fuit  optimus  orgaquenista  ;' 

so  that  we  may  conclude  that  he  occupied  his  time 
largely  with  these  branches  of  music. 

Abyngdon  shared  the  goodwill  of  Sir  Thomas 
More,  who,  as  a  young  man.  knew  the  musician. 
The  association  does  honour  to  both,  and  shows  that 
Abyngdon  must  have  had  points  as  a  man  as  well  as  a 
musician,  especially  as  the  Prelate  styled  him  'nobilis.'* 

*  '  Life  of  More'  (Cay ley),  vol.  i.,  p.  317- 


350  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Sir  Thomas  More  wrote  two  epitaphs  on  Abyngdon. 
Hamboys,  Saintwix  and  Abyngdon  represent  the 
Third  Period  English  School,  the  archives  of  which 
are  unfortunately  lost. 

Hothby*  (John),  whose  precise  birth  and   death 
dates  are  unknown,  although  it  is  conjectured  that 
he  died  at  Florence  in  1 500,  %vas  another  fifteenth- 
century   musician,   whom   it   has    been   at- 
Hothby.  7,  .. 

tempted  by  some  to  locate  a  century  earlier. 

An  English  Carmelite  monk,  he  long  lived  in  a 
monastery  at  Ferrara,  but  settled  eventually  at 
Florence  circa  1440.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he 
was  a  clever  scientific  musician,  who,  in  search  of 
information  concerning  his  art,  left  England  to 
travel  in  Italy,  France,  Germany  and  Spain,  in 
the  monasteries  of  which  countries  many  scarce 
musical  manuscripts  were  to  be  seen. 

Hothby  would  seem  to  have  been  indebted  to 
Muris  for  some  of  his  erudition,  for  in  a  manuscript 
copy  of  a  work  by  that  learned  and  earlier  theorist 
the  copyist  attests  to  having  transcribed  it  for 
Hothby,  adding  the  date  1471,  and  eulogizing 
Hothby.  This,  by  the  way,  is  ample  proof  that 
Hothby  was  no  fourteenth-century  worker. 

He  wrote  several  treatises  on  music,  two  of 
which  Coussemaker  has  published  in  his  collec- 
tion   of   writings   on   music   of  the    Middle    A^es.-r 

*  Also  written  Ottebi,  Otteby,  and  Hothbus. 
t   '  Scriptorum  de  Musica  Medii  sEvi,'  iii.  328. 


WYDEWE  35i 


Hothby's  chief  work  was  on  the  '  Proportions  of 
Music,'  and  copies  of  treatises  on  this  subject  are  to  be 
found  in  the  British  Museum  and  in  the  libraries  of 
Paris,  Bologna,  and  Ferrara.  The  latest  researches 
warn  us,  however,  that  the  treatise  beginning  '  Quid 
est  Proportio,' dated  1500,  of  which  there  are  copies 
at  the  British  Museum  and  Lambeth  Palace,  is  not 
identical  with  the  '  Regular  super  Proportionem '  of 
the  foreign  libraries.  In  the  Florence  Library  is  a 
Hothby  MS.,  which,  besides  being  a  quotation  from 
Dunstable,  contains  an  interesting  account  of  musical 
notation  and  the  transition  from  neumes  to  square 
note  characters. 

It  has  not  transpired  whether  Hothby  was  an 
executive  musician  besides  being  a  composer  ;  but 
there  is  little  doubt  that  all  these  early  theorists 
whose  names  have  come  down  to  us  as  composers 
only,  were  also  organists,  and  in  some  cases  singers 
in  the  royal  chapels.  The  Paris  MS.  styles  Hothby 
a  Doctor  of  Music,  but  his  name  cannot  be  traced 
among  the  musical  graduates  of  either  Oxford  or 
Cambridge. 

To   maintain   as   far   as   possible   a   chronological 

order  at  this  disturbed  period,  we  have  next  to  speak 

of  Robert  Wydewe,   who  was   sub-cantor  of  Wells 

Cathedral    in    1447.       In    this    same    year 
Wydewe. 

John    Bernard   was  Cantor   of  Wells,   but 

unfortunately  little  more  is  known  of  him.     Wydow* 
*  Spelt  also  Wedow,  Widows,  Wydewe,  and  Viduus. 


35^ 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


flourished  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  (146 1-1483). 
The  son  of  an  Essex  schoolmaster,  he  was  sent  to 
Oxford,  where  he  took  the  Bachelor  of  Music  degree. 
He  also  took  holy  orders,  and  was  appointed  Vicar 
of  Thaxted  in  148 1.  He  held  successively  the  ap- 
pointment of  '  Penitentarius'  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  ; 
Rector  of  Chalfont  St.  Giles  ;  Canon  and  Succentor 
of  Wells  ;  deputy  between  the  Pope  and  the  Chapter 
of  Wells  ;  and  finally  Vicar  of  Buckland  Newton. 
Among  the  poets  of  his  day  he  was  facile  princeps, 
but  no  musical  composition  of  his  has  survived  his 
fame.      He  died  October  4,  1505. 

Henry  V.  (141 3-1432)  was  a  monarch  who  would 

seem  to  have  entertained  peculiar  notions  respecting 

music,  although  we  do  not  find  that  he   used   any 

Henry  V.    severity  in  inter- 

and  Music.  dieting  {ts  use  in 

any  way.  At  his  corona- 
tion in  Westminster  Hall 
in  14 1 3,  for  instance,  we 
hear  of  no  other  instru- 
ments than  harps  being 
used,  although  numerous 
other  instruments  were  in 
every-day  use.  Of  harps 
in  the  hall,  however,  there 
was  a  prodigious   number, 

if  we  are  to  believe  one  of  his  historians.  '  The 
number  of  harpers,'  we  are  told,  'was  exceedingly 


HENRY    V, 


AGI.XCOURT  SOLDIERS'  MUSIC 


J3.> 


great,  and,'  goes  on  the  narrator,  '  the  sweet  strings 
of  their  harps  soothed  the  souls  of  the  guests  by 
their  soft  melody.'  Possibly  the  Prince  had  an 
aversion  to  noisy  music,  prefer- 
ring what  some  people  to-day 
describe  as  '  soft '  music.  If  so, 
we  can  but  admire  his  taste,  for 
nothing  perhaps  in  the  range  of 
music  is  more  disturbing  than 
that  blasting  and  blowing  of 
trumpets  which  has  to  be  en- 
dured upon  important  public 
occasions,  even  when  these  are 

.       ..  .  JONGLEUR  PLAYING  A  VIELLE 

enacted       indoors      nowadays,       (fifteenth  century). 

When     a    SWeep     Of    harp     music       (From  a  MS.  in.  t/ie  Arsenal 
r  tr  Library  at  Paris. ) 

would  be  infinitely  more  affect- 
ing and  less  barbarous.  Why  the  high  personages 
mostly  concerned  in  these  functions,  and  whose 
minds  are  expected  to  be  centred  on  what  is  going 
on,  do  not  move  for  an  abatement  of  this  fanfare 
nuisance  passes  our  comprehension.  That  music 
was  much  in  vogue  among  the  soldiers  of  those 
days — probably  more  than  it  is  now — has  come 
down  to  us  as  a  historical  fact.  The  night  before 
the  battle  of  Agincourt  the  English  camp  resounded 
with  national  songs  and  music. 

Public  expressions  of  applause  were  particularly- 
distasteful  to  this  King,  who  was  more  disgusted 
than   gratified    with    praise    for    his     valiant    deeds. 

23 


354 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


When    he    entered   the   City   of   London    after  the 

battle  of  Agincourt,  the  gates  and  streets  were  hung 

with  tapestry,  representing  the  history  of 

Agincourt  ancient  heroes  ;  and  children  were  placed 
Song.  . 

at  temporary  turrets  to  sing  verses.     Such 

arrangements,  however,  were  of  little  avail.  Henry, 
by  a  formal  edict,  forbade  his  subjects  for  the  future 
to  extol  this  Agincourt  victory,  '  for  that  he  woulde 
have  the  wholle  praise  and  thanks  given  to  God.' 
In  spite  of  edicts,  however,  one  song  got  so  firm  a 
hold  upon  the  people,  either  before  or  after  the 
order,  that  it  has  been  kept  to  this  day.  It  is  pre- 
served in  the  Pepysian  Collection  at  Cambridge. 
This  copy  is  written  upon  vellum  in  Gregorian  notes, 
and  Dr.  Burney  was  of  opinion  that  it  was  '  little  less 
ancient  than  the  event  which  it  recorded.'*  Ap- 
pended is  a  copy  of  this  remarkable  song,  which  is 
not  less  notable  as  a  venerable  historic  relic  than  it 
is  as  a  sample  of  native  musical  composition  : 


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v-e — —e- 


fr>;<  <   r  |P=»^f^^q 


2 


1 


hym    wrought    marv  -  'lus     -     ly,  Wherefore     Englonde         may 


-&■ 


calle,  and     cry  :         De 


'P-       • 


'  '    fr^fikEZF^ 


gra 


ti     -     as. 


356 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Chorus. 


D; 


o        era  -  ti  -  as 


An 


di 


|®^=d=:i^z=:d: 


De 


o       gra  -  ti  -  as 


An 


gK 


^?ar-5^?iir?=^=^^t^i^& 


3&± 


-I— 


:i 


De 


gra  -  ti  -  as 


An 


gli 


rea  - 


m 


m 


=t~:=l: 


red  -  de 


g--#-"J~^— o- 


pro     vie 


-S>- 


to     -      ri 


a. 


M^ig^sf^at^f 


-Si- 


de        pro 
<9-T 


vie 


to 


Z22I 


t=i — ^-i — r 


g=i    ■ 


«= 


i 


red     -    de    pro 


vie     -     to 


n 


The  remainder  of  the  narrative  runs  as  follows  : 

'  He  sette  a  sege,  the  sothe  to  say, 
To  Harflue  town,  with  royal  array, 
That  toune  he  wan,  and  made  a  fray, 
That  Fraunce  shall  rywe  tyl  domes-day. 
Deo  gratias,  etc. 


MUSIC  OF  THE  'AGINCOURT'  SOXG  357 


'  Than  for  sothe  that  knyght  comely, 
In  Agincourt  feld  faught  manly, 
Thorow  grace  of  God  most  myghty, 
He  had  bothe  felde,  and  victory. 
Deo  gratias,  etc. 

'Then  went  owre  kynge,  with  all  his  oste, 
Throwe  Fraunce  for  all  the  Frensshe  boste ; 
He  spared  for  drede  of  leste,  ne  most 
Till  he  come  to  Agincourt  coste. 
Deo  gratias,  etc. 

'  There  dukys,  and  earlys,  lorde  and  baron 
Were  take,  and  slayne,  and  that  wel  sone, 
And  some  were  ledde  into  Lundone 
With  joye,  and  merthe,  and  grete  renone. 
Deo  gratias,  etc. 

'  Now  gracious  God  he  save  owre  kynge, 
His  people,  and  all  his  well  wyllinge  ; 
Gef  him  gode  lyfe,  and  gode  endynge, 
That  we  with  merth  may  safely  synge 

Deo  gratias  Anglia  redde  pro  victoria.' 

We  arc  indebted  to  Dr.  Burney  and  his  con- 
temporary, John  Stafford  Smith — whose  '  Musica 
Antiqua '  collection  renders  him  an  authority  upon 
ancient  vocal  music — for  deciphering  and  disen- 
tangling the  notation,  etc.,  of  this  song.  From  the 
marked  'churchy'  character  of  the  music,  and  the 
fact  that  it  is  written  in  the  Dorian,  or  first  authentic 
mode,  it  would  seem  to  have  been  composed  by  an 
ecclesiastic  whose  name  has  not  come  down  to  us. 
The  thoughtful  Deo  Gratias  somewhat  confirms  this 
view.  At  the  same  time,  all  the  music  of  this  period 
is   steeped   with   a  religious   flavour — especially   the 


353 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


scientific  music — as  if  it  was  mainly  the  work  of 
monks,  or  others,  brought  much  into  contact  with 
ecclesiastical  life  and  influence.  The  melody  of  this 
'  Agincourt '  song  is  fairly  regular  and  agreeable  to 
the  ear,  but  it  well  illustrates  the  fluctuating  character 
of  the  composer's  art  in  England  in  being  far  in- 
ferior to  '  Sumer  is  icumen  in,'  both  in  melody  and 
harmony,  as  well  as  in  secular,  local  colour. 

Henry  V.  was  not  wholly  opposed  to  music,  for 
when  preparing  for  his  eventful  journey  to  France  in 

141 5,  an  express  order  was  given  for  his  minstrels 
to  attend  him.     Again,  at  the  Feast  of  Pentecost  in 

1 41 6,  when  he  entertained  the  Emperor  and  the 
Duke  of  Holland,  he  ordered  rich  gowns  for  sixteen 
of  his  minstrels.     At  his  death  his  son  (Henry  VI.) 

paid  out  of  the  Royal 
Exchequer  a  grant  of 
one  hundred  shillings  to 
each  of  the  late  Kind's 
minstrels,  an  annuity 
which  the  late  King- 
ordered  orally  just  be- 
fore his  death,  but  was 
not  able  to  endorse. 

Little     is     heard     of 
music  in   England  dur- 
ing  Henry   VI. 's    reign 
(1422-1461).      It    has   been  gleaned    from   records, 
however,  that  for  the  year  1430,  and  for  some  time 


^ffv 


HENRY    VI. 


CHAPELS  ROYAL  FOUNDED  359 

both  before  and  after,  the  minstrels  were  better 
paid  than  the  clergy.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VI. 
it  was  the  custom  to  hold  an  annual  feast  of  the 
fraternity  of  the  Holy  Cross.  This  took  place 
at  Abingdon,  in  Berkshire,  and  the  disbursements 
show  that  while  twelve  priests  each  received  4d.  for 
singing  a  dirge,  the  minstrels,  of  whom  there  were 
twelve,  each  received  2s.  4d.,  in  addition  to  food  for 
himself  and  fodder  for  his  horse.  Nor  was  this 
extra  payment  because  they  travelled  far,  since  most 
of  them  hailed  from  the  neighbouring  town  of 
Maidenhead. 

That  this  King  enjoyed  and  supported  music, 
however,  is  clear,  inasmuch  as  several  of  the 
musicians  whom  he  paid  for  their  solace  and  amuse- 
ment went  over,  at  his  death,  to  the  service  of 
Edward  IV. 

The  next  reign  was  an  auspicious  one  for  music. 

Edward  IV.  (1461-1483)  was  minded  to  advance  the 

art,  and  amid  many  demands  which  the  continuation 

of  civil    war  made  upon   him,   he    found 

Royal       time   and   attention   to   accomplish   not   a 
Founded.  .        .  -  „  .  ,, 

little   in   the  cause  01    music.      Edward  s 

name,  indeed,  deserves  to  be  honourably  remem- 
bered for  what  he  did  for  the  art  at  a  particu- 
larly troubled  period,  especially  as  some  of  our 
most  cherished  musical  institutions  of  to-day  owe 
their  origin  to  this  King.  Edward  built  the 
Chapel   Royal  at  Windsor,   and  from  his   desire   to 


?6o 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


have    suitable    musical    services    thereat    came    the 
foundation    of  those  establishments  —  the    Chapels 

Royal — with  which  so 
many  of  the  foremost 
native  musicians  of  to- 
day are,  or  have  been, 
actively    associated.      In 


a  work*  containing  an 
account  of  the  household 
establishment  of  Edward 
IV.,  we  meet  with  data 
which  furnish  us  with 
edward  iv.  the  origin  of  the  institu- 

tions— the  Chapel  Royal 

choir  and  the  Royal  Band — the  King's  or  Queen's, 

as  the  case  may  be. 

The     particulars    detailed    concern    the    several 

musicians   retained   in   the   King's    employment  for 

his  private  amusement  as  well  as  for  the  carrying 

...     ,        out  of  the  chapel  services.     Thus  there 
Kings  r 

Court  were  :  '  Minstrelles  thirteene,  whereof  one 
is  Virger,  which  directeth  them  all  fes- 
tyvall  dayes  in  their  statyones  of  blowings  and 
pypyngs  to  such  offyces  as  the  offy ceres  might  be 
warned  to  prepare  for  the  King's  meats  and 
soupers  ;  to  be  more  redyere  in  all  services  and 
due  tyme  ;  and  all  these  sytying  in  the  hall  together, 
whereof  some  be  trompets,  some  with  the  shalmes 


*  '  Liber  Niger  Domus  Regis' 


COURT  MUSICIANS'  EMOLUMENTS 


361 


and  smalle  pypes,  and  some  are  strange  mene  comin 
to  this  Court  at  fyve  feastes  of  the  year,  and  then 
take    their   washes   of 


Household,  after  u\]d. 
ob.  by  daye,  after  as 
they  have  byne  pre- 
sente  in  Courte.  and 
then    to   avoyd    after 
the     next     morrowe 
aftere  the  feaste,  be- 
sydes  theire  other  re- 
wards yearly   in    the 
King's       Exchequer, 
and     clothinge     with 
the   Household,   wintere 
and   somere  for  eiche  of 
them    xxs.       And    they 
take  nightelyeamongeste 
them  all  iiij   galanes  ale  ; 
and  for  wintere  Seasone 
thre    candles    waxe,    vj 
candles     pich,     iiij     tale 
sheids    (billets    of    fire- 
wood) ;     lodging     suffy- 
tyente    by   the    Herben- 
Ofere  for  them  and  theire 
horses   nighteley  to  the 

Courte.    Aulso  hauing  into  Courte  ij  servants  to  bear 
their  trompets,    pypes,   and   other  instruments,   and 


MINSTRELS  OK  THE    FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY. 


362  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

torche  for  wintere  nightes,  whilst  they  blow  to  suppore 
of  the  chaundry  ;  and  alway  two  of  thes  persones  to 
contynewe  stylle  in  Courte  at  wages  by  the  cheque 
rolle  whiles  they  be  presente  iiij  ob.  dayly,  to  warne 
the  King's  ridynge  household  when  he  goeth  to 
horsbacke  as  oft  as  it  shall  require,  and  that  his 
household  meny  may  followe  the  more  redyere  aftere 
by  the  blowinge  of  their  trompets.  Yf  any  of  thes 
two  Minstrelles  be  lete  bloode  in  Courte,  he  taketh 
two  loves,  ij  messe  of  greate  meate,  one  galone  ale. 
They  part  not  at  no  tyme  with  the  rewards  given  to 
the  Household.  Also  when  it  pleasethe  the  King 
to  have  ij  Minstrelles  continuinge  at  Courte,  they 
will  not  in  no  wise  that  thes  Minstrelles  be  so 
famylliere  to  aske  rewards.' 

Another  entry  runs  :  '  A  Wayte  that  nightelye 
from  Mychelmas  to  Shreve  Thorsdaye  pipethe 
watche  withen  this  Courte  fower  tymes  ;  in  the 
somere  nightes  iij  tymes,  and  makethe  Bon  Gayte 
(good  watch)  at  every  chambere  doare  and  offyce, 
as  well  for  feare  of  pyckeres  and  pillers.  He  eateth 
in  the  halle  with  mynstrielles,  and  takethe  yverey 
nighte  a  loffe,  a  galone  of  alle,  and  for  somere 
nightes  ij  candles  pich,  a  bushel  of  coles  ;  and  for 
wintere  nights  halfe  a  loafe  of  bread,  a  gallon  of  ale, 
iiij  candles  piche,  a  bushel  coles  ;  daylye  whilste  he 
is  presente  in  Courte  for  his  wages  in  cheque  roale 
allowed  iiijV.  ob.  or  else  u]d.  by  the  discreshon  of  the 
steuarde  and  tressorere,  and  that,  aftere  his  cominge 


CHAPEL  ROYAL  CHILDREN  363 

and  diserninge  :  also  cloathinge  with  the  houshold 
yeoman  or  mynstrelles  lyke  to  the  wages  that  he 
takethe  ;  and  he  be  syke  he  takyth  twoe  loves,  ij 
messe  of  greate  meate,  one  gallon  ale.  Also  he 
partethe  with  the  housholde  of  general  gyfts,  and 
hathe  his  beddinge  carried  by  the  comptroller's 
assygment  ;  and  under  this  yeoman  to  be  a  groome 
watere.  Yf  he  can  excuse  the  yeoman  in  his 
absence,  then  he  takethe  rewarde,  clotheinge,  meat 
and  all  other  things  lyke  to  other  Grooms  of  Hous- 
hold. Also  this  Yeoman-Waighte,  at  the  making 
of  Knightes  of  the  Bathe,  for  his  attendance  upon 
them  by  nighte-tyme,  in  watchinge  in  the  chappelle, 
hathe  to  his  fee  all  the  watchinge-clothing  that  the 
knight  shall  weare  uppon  him.' 

The  next  entry  concerns  the  '  Cildren  of  the 
Chapelle.'  Of  these  there  were  '  viij  founded  by  the 
King's  priuie  cofferes  for  all  that  longeth  to  their 
apperelle  by  the  hands  and  oversyghte  of  the  Deane, 
or  by  the  Master  of  Songe  assigned  to  teache  them, 
which  Mastere  is  appointed  by  the  Deane,  chosen 
one  of  the  nomber  of  the  felowshipe  of  chappelle 
after  rehearsed,  and  to  drawe  them  to  other  schooles 
after  the  form  of  Gacotte,  as  well  as  in  Songe  in 
Organies  and  other.  Thes  Children  eate  in  the 
Hall  dayly  at  the  Chappele  board,  nexte  the 
Yeomane  of  Uestery  :  taking  amongst  them  for 
lyverye  daylye  for  brekefaste  and  all  nighte,  two 
loves,    one  messe  of  greate   meate,   ij   galones   ale  ; 


364  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


and  for  wintere  seasone  iiij  candles  piche,  iij  talfheids, 
and  lyttere  for  their  pallets  of  the  Serjante-Usher 
and  carryadge  of  the  King's  coste  for  the  competente 
beddynge  by  the  oversyghte  of  the  Comptrollere. 
And  amono-este  them  all  to  have  one  servante  into 
the  court  to  trusse  and  bear  their  harnesse  and 
lyverye  in  Court.  And  that  day  the  King's  Chappelle 
remoueth  every  of  thes  children  then  present  re- 
ceauth  iujd.  at  the  Grene  Clothe  of  the  Comptying- 
house  for  horshire  dayly,  as  long  as  they  be  jurneinge. 
And  when  any  of  these  children  comene  to  xviij 
years  of  age,  and  their  uoyces  change,  ne  cannot  be 
preferred  in  this  Chapelle,  the  nombere  being  full, 
then  yf  they  will  assente  the  King  assynethe  them 
to  a  College  of  Oxeford  or  Cambridge  of  his  founda- 
tione,  there  to  be  at  fyndyng  and  studye  bothe 
suffytyently,  tylle  the  King  may  otherwise  aduance 
them.' 

Thus  if  Edward  IV.  somewhat  curtailed  the, 
liberty  and  audacity  of  the  wandering  minstrel  he 
accomplished  a  greater  work  in  establishing  musical 
institutions  which  have  survived  to  this  day,  and 
which  we  hope,  and  believe,  will  remain  for  many  a 
long  year  to  come.  The  royal  chapels  and  the 
private  bands  of  the  Sovereign  have  ever  since  pro- 
vided lucrative  and  coveted  posts  for  a  proportion  of 
our  best  native  talent,  and  when  all  other  musical 
machinery  has  stopped  and  disappeared,  these 
establishments — and    occasionally   others   like  them 


ENCOURAGEMENT  FROM  EDWARD  IV.  365 

in  wealthy  private  families — have  been  the  means  of 
preserving  and  keeping  together  the  musical  tradi- 
tion and  practice.  But  a 
greater  value  attached  to 
Edward  IV.'s  action.  The 
appointments  in  the  King's 
service  grave  their  holders  a 
leisure  free  from  concern  as 
to  '  ways  and  means.'  They 
had  time  to  think,  and  their 
thoughts  naturally  reverted 
to  their  beautiful  art.  As  a 
consequence,  these 
musicians  took  to 
writing  music — music 
that  was  adapted  to, 
and  would  meet  with 
performance  at,  the 
chapel  services.  One 
vied  with  another  in 
producing  a  beautiful 
anthem,  motet,  or  Aze 
setting.  Such  was 
the  genesis  of  that 
great  glorious  school 
of  English  Church  composers  which  has  made  the 
Elizabethan  era  for  ever  famous  in  the  annals  of 
music.  The  matter  emanated  entirely  from  among 
ourselves,  and  it  is  a  wilful  perversion  of  the  facts  to 


MINSTRELS  OK  THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY. 


366  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

attribute  the  movement  to  any  other — particularly 
any  foreign — source  or  influence. 

In  a  previous  chapter  we  left  the  minstrels  fast 
declining.  A  few  more  remarks  need  to  be  made 
respecting  them  before  they  disappear  wholly,  as  an 
accepted  element,  from  the  story  of  English  musical 
history. 

Edward   IV.    (1461-1483)  was   the   last   monarch 

who  recognized  the  minstrels.     In   1469  he  granted 

a  Royal  charter,  dated  April  24,  to  Walter  Halliday, 

...    and  seven  others,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
Edward  IV.  J 

and         appoint  officers  from  among  themselves 

Minstrelsy.  ,  1         i  1  1  •  1 

and  to  control  and  regulate  the  minstrel 

profession.     Halliday  became  '  Marshal,'  and  Carlile 

1  Serjeant,'  and  the  latter  it  was  who,  as  the  King 

lay  one  day  on  his  bed,  came  to  him  in  great  haste, 

and    '  badde    hym    aryse,    for    he    hadde    enemyes 

cumming  for  to   take  him,  the  which  were  within 

six  or  seven  miles.' 

Edward  paid  his  musicians  as  a  King  should — 

right  royally — and  depended  upon  them  not  a  little 

for  assistance  upon  occasions  of  importance,  whether 

in  the  Church  or  outside  it.     Thus  when  Elizabeth, 

his    Queen,    went    to    Westminster    Abbey    to    be 

churched  (1466),  she  was  preceded  by  processions  of 

choristers,  chanting  hymns,  and  to  these  succeeded 

loner    lines    of    the    noblest    and    fairest    women    of 

London,     attended     by    bands     of    musicians    and 

trumpeters,  and  forty-two  royal  singers.      Truly   a 


FAMILY  MUSICIANS  367 

reasonable,  impressive  pageantry — one  which  might, 
to  some  extent  at  least,  be  imitated  nowadays,  for 
surely  the  music  from  such  a  procession  of  Church 
musicians  would  be  in  every  sense  more  appropriate 
upon  many  of  our  state  occasions  than  is  the  nerve- 
tearing  military  music  which  so  wholly  and  entirely 
obtains  upon  such  opportunities  to-day. 

Every  private  family  of  note  had  its  own  musical 
staff  in  Edward  IV.'s  reign — those  who  could  not 
afford  a  band  of  performers  contenting  themselves 

_  .  with  a  harper  only.     An  Abbot  or  Bishop 

Private  r  J  r 

Families'    — upon  the  score  of  expense,  or,  perhaps, 
Musicians. 

scruples    of  conscience — was   sometimes 

reduced  to  this  extreme.  The  household  book 
of  the  Howard  family  abounds  in  entries  relating 
to  music  and  musicians.  We  find  a  payment  of 
a  '  new  year's  gift '  to  Lady  Howard's  grand- 
mother's harper  '  that  dwellyth  in  Chestre.'  Singers' 
names — Nicholas  Stapylton,  William  Lyndsey,  and 
'  little  Richard  ' — appear,  besides  entries  referring  to 
four,  five,  and  six  'children  of  the  chapel,'  thus 
showing  that  private  chapels  were  maintained  upon 
a  large  scale  even  thus  early. 

From  an  item  set  clown  to  '  Thomas,  the  harperd  ' 
for  a  '  lyard,'  or  gray  '  gown,'  it  is  clear  that  patrons 
robed  their  musicians  in  those  days.  Lord  Howard 
did  not  scour  the  country  for  his  musicians,  but 
adopted  the  sensible  plan  of  having  promising 
young  talent  trained  for  the  post  of  family  musician. 


363  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


Thus  we  find  from  an  agreement  that  was  made, 
the  14th  day  of  October,  1481,  that  one  William 
Wastell,  harper  of  London,  was  engaged  so  that  he 
should  teach  the  son  of  John  Colet,  of  Colchester, 
harper,  for  a  year,  in  order  probably  to  render  him 
competent  afterwards  to  fill  the  post  of  one  of  the 
house  musicians.  A  '  gown  '  was  to  be  presented  to 
Wastell  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

On  the  whole  Wastell's  appearance  was  picturesque 
enough.  This  '  squire  minstrel  of  Middlesex,  who 
travelled  the  country  in  the  summer  seasons  unto 
worshipful  men's  houses,'  had  along  gown  of  Kendal 
green,  gathered  at  the  neck  with  a  narrow  gorget, 
and  fastened  before  with  a  white  clasp.  The  long 
sleeves  falling  down  to  mid-leg  were  slit  from  the 
shoulders  to  the  hand,  and  lined  with  white.  His 
harp  hung  '  in  good  grace  dependent  before  him,' 
and  his  'wrest,'  or  tuning-key,  was  tied  to  'green 
lace  hanging  by.'  He  wore  a  red  Cadiz  girdle,  and 
the  corner  of  his  handkerchief,  edged  with  blue  lace, 
hung  from  his  bosom.  Under  the  gorget  of  his 
gown  hung  a  chain,  '  resplendent  upon  his  breast,  of 
the  ancient  arms  of  Islington.' 

Unfortunately  for  Wastell  and  his  art,  such  fine 
appearances  and  considerate  patrons  had  to  give 
way  before  a  more  prosaic  state  of  things — those 
inevitable  changes  and  improvements  which  were  to 
lead  up  to  the  machinery  of  music  as  a  nineteenth- 
century  business  and  profession.     The  vast  musical 


RICHARD  III.  FAVOURS  MUSIC 


369 


life  and  work  of  to-day  had  to  be  opened  up,  and 
before  this  could  be  accomplished  there  were  many 
processes,  and  many  prejudices,  which  had  to  be 
broken  throuo-h. 

O 

The  short  reign  of  Edward  V. — whose  unhappy 
fate  with  his  brother  Richard,  Duke  of  York,  is  one 
of  the  most  pathetic  pictures  in  our  national  history 
— furnishes  little  further 
musical  clue.  With 
Richard  III.  (1483- 
1485),  however,  we 
meet  with  a  monarch 
who  was  wrell  disposed 
towards  music  and  its 
professors.  His  chief 
aim  was  to  maintain  the 
excellence  of  the  Chapel 
Royal  choir  which  his 
brother  had  inaugu- 
rated. To  this  end  he  empowered  John  Melynek, 
one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  chapel,  '  to  take  and 
seize  for  the  King  all  such  singing  men,  expert  in 
the  science  of  music,  as  he  could  find  and  think 
able  to  do  the  King's  service,  within  all  places 
of  the  realm,  as  well  cathedral  churches,  colleges, 
chapels,  houses  of  religion,  and  all  other  franchised 
or  exempt  places,  or  elsewhere.'  Children  were 
not  excluded  from  this  order,  which  was,  indeed,  an 
illustration  of  the  robbing  of  Peter  to  pay  Paul  ! 

24 


RICHARD    III. 


37o  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


One  of  the  last    of  the   minstrels    was    Richard 

Sheale  (circa  1548),  who  preserved  'Chevy  Chase' 

_,     ,         for  us,  and  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be 
The  Last 

of  the      robbed  on   Dunsmore   Heath.      His  loss 
M  i  nstrels. 

was   ^60,    an    occurrence    which    he   de- 
scribes sorrowfully  : 

i  After  my  robbery  my  memory  was  so  decay'd 
That  I  could  neither  sing,  nor  talk,  my  wits  were  so  dismay'd. 

'  Some  said  I  was  not  robb'd,  I  was  but  a  lying  knave, 
It  was  not  possible  for  a  minstrel  so  much  money  to  have. 

*  Because  my  carriage  should  be  light  I  put  my  money  into  gold, 
And  without  company  I  rode  alone — thus  was  I  foolish  bold  ; 
I  thought  by  reason  of  my  harp  no  man  would  me  suspect, 
For  minstrels  oft  with  money,  they  be  not  much  infect.' 

A  salutary  measure  passed  in  the  thirty  ninth  year 

of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  put  an  end  to  the  minstrels 

for  ever.     '  Minstrels  wandering  abroad  were  rogues, 

vagabonds,   and    sturdy   beggars,'   and    were   to   be 

punished  as  such.     The  result  of  this  was  that  there 

were  no  more  orders  of  minstrels.     They  descended 

to  street  musicians,  and  roamed  about  singly,  or  in 

twos   and   threes    very   much   in   the   same   way   as 

itinerant  musicians  do  now. 

When  the  minstrels  died  out,  Dr.  Bull  wrote  the 

_   ,,,        following:    lines,    which     mio;ht    truly    be 
Bull's  &  '  &  J 

Minstrels'  called  the   '  Minstrels'   Epitaph,'  for  min- 
Epitaph. 

strels  never  rose  again  to  any  importance 

in  this  country  : 


BULL'S  MIXSTRELS'  EPITAPH 


57 1 


'  When  Jesus  went  to  Jairus'  house 
(Whose  daughter  was  about  to  die), 
He  turned  the  minstrels  out  of  doors, 
Among  the  rascal  company  : 
Beggars  they  are  with  one  consent, 
And  rogues,  by  Act  of  Parliament.' 

It  is  a  universal  law  that  when  one  element  dis- 
appears it  is  but  to  make  room  for  another.  Thus, 
when  minstrelsy  declined  in  England,  its  place  was 


THE   MUSICIANS. 


(Carvings  representing  the  humours  of  a  popular  festival  (a  Whitsun  Ale)  on  the 
entablature  under  the  parapet  of  the  nave  of  St.  John's  Church,  Cirencester. 
Nave  rebuilt  in  1504.) 

soon  filled  by  a  substitute  which  the  people  made  for 
themselves.  Minstrelsy — the  true  minstrelsy  which 
for  so  many  years  had  stood  in  place  of  any  better 
art — declined    appreciably  before   the   Reformation. 


372  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

Caxton's  great  labours  affected  it  as  they  affected 
all  else  in  England.  '  The  invention  of  printing,' 
remarks  Mr.  Chappell,  '  coupled  with  the  in- 
creased cultivation  of  poetry  and  music  by  men 
of  genius  and  learning,  accelerated  the  downfall  of 
the  minstrels.  They  could  not  long  withstand  the 
superior  standard  of  excellence  in  the  sister  arts,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  competition  of  the  ballad- 
singer  (who  sang  without  asking  remuneration,  and 
sold  his  songs  for  a  penny),  on  the  other.  In  little 
more  than  fifty  years  from  this  time  they  seem  to 
have  fallen  into  utter  contempt.'* 

Secular  music  was  greatly  in  advance  of  that  of 
the  Church  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries, 
but  although  such  was  the  case  very  little  secular 
music  has  been  handed  down.  There  was  nothing 
to  prevent  the  free  and  unembarrassed  development 
of  secular  music.  The  people  liked  it,  and  there 
were  plenty  of  wandering  musicians — gifted  enough 
although  unscientific — ready  to  make  music  for  the 
people.  Folk-songs,  refrains,  roundelays,  love-ditties, 
ballads,  and  serenades  ' — all  this  was  a  perfectly 
natural  music-growth  which  filled  the  air  with  its 
perfume.  The  people,  and  wandering  musicians 
between  them,  made  the  secular  music,  leaving  that 
less  natural  art — sacred  music — in  the  hands  of  the 
trained  theorists,  and  rigid  musical  purists  of  the 
monastery  and  cloister. 

The  last  important  secular  composition  referred  to 

*  '  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time '  (Chappell). 


OLD  ENGLISH  DAXCE  TUNE 


373 


was  that  First  Period  School  composition  '  Sumer  is 
icumen  in.'  Secular  music  did  not  beein  and  end 
with  this  example.  Confining  ourselves  to  early 
songs  with  music — songs  without  music  are  frequent 
enough — there  is  one  of  the  thirteenth  century,  with 
music  in  two  parts,  to  the  words  : 

1  Foweles  in  the  frith,  the  fisses  in  the  flod.' 

This  MS.  is  preserved  in  the  Bodleian  Library. 

Another  very  early  English  song,  with  music,  is 
the  '  Song  of  a  Prisoner,'  to  be  found  in  the  Liber 
de  Antiquis  Lc gibus  in  the 
London  Guildhall  archives. 

In  proof  that  secular  music 
was  considerably  in  advance  of 
that  of  the  Church  in  the  twelfth 
and  thirteenth  centuries,  we 
quote  a  specimen  printed  in 
John  Stafford  Smith's  '  Musica 
Antiqua,'  of  an  old  English 
dance  tune,  taken  from  an  ancient 
manuscript  now  in  the  Bodleian 
Library.  Its  notation  is  of  the 
same  period  as  that  of  the  Reading  Rota — a  First 
Period  School  composition — '  Sumer  is  icumen  in,' 
i.e.,  about  1250.      The  bass  is  a  modern  addition  : 


ENGLISH   CROWD. 

(From  a  bas-relief  on  the 
under  part  of  tlu  seats  in 
Worcester  Cathedral  choir. 
Date,  twelfth  or  thirteenth 
century. ) 


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THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


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A  NATURAL  TONALITY  375 

Of  the  original  of  this  tune  and  MS.  Dr.  Crotch 
observes  :  '  The  abundance  of  appoggiaturas  in  so 
ancient  a  melody,  and  the  number  of  bars  in  the 
phrases,  four  in  one  and  five  in  another,  nine  in  each 
part,  are  its  most  striking  peculiarities.  It  is  formed 
on  an  excellent  design,  similar  to  that  of  several  fine 
airs  of  different  nations.  It  consists  of  three  parts, 
resembling  each  other  excepting  in  the  commence- 
ment of  their  phrases,  in  which  they  tower  above 
each  other  with  increasing  energy,  and  is  altogether 
a  curious  and  very  favourable  specimen  of,  the  state 
of  music  at  this  very  early  period.' 

'  It  is  also  a  fact  worthy  of  remark,'  writes  Sir 
F.  A.  Gore  Ouseley,  'that  this  piece,  like  "  Sumer 
is  icumen  in,"  is  in  the  key  of  F  major,  and  not  in 
any  of  the  Church  modes,  and  is  in  strict  conformity 
with  the  rules  of  modern  music  in  its  closes,  which 
are  uniformly  composed  of  a  leading  note  rising  to 
its  proper  resolution.  This  goes  a  long  way  towards 
proving  that  our  modern  tonality  was  natural  and 
spontaneous  among  our  ancestors,  although  strictly 
excluded  from  the  music  of  the  Church,  and  ignored 
by  all  the  theoretical  writers  on  harmony  for  three 
centuries  after  that  date.'* 

This  soil  or  land  music  became  the  later  folk- 
music,  and  we  have  only  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  rude  beauty  and  warm  sentiment  of  some  of  the 
oldest  folk-songs,  to  gauge  the  attractive  nature  of 

*  'History  of  Music'  (Naumann-Ouseley),  vol.  i.,  p.  555. 


376  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

the  early  English  secular  music,  and  to  account  for 
its  hold  upon  the  people. 

That  practically  all  the  secular  music  of  England 
prior  to  the  thirteenth  century  should  be  lost  is 
greatly  to  be  deplored,  yet  with  the  elegiac  grace  and 
beauty  of  that  splendid  remaining  example — '  Sumer 
is  icumen  in  ' — before  us,  it  goes  far  to  persuade  us 
that  this  unrestrained,  natural  art  of  the  people  was 
characterized  by  a  flavour  and  character  that  must 
have  made  it  particularly  attractive  and  enjoyable. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  so  little  is  known 
concerning  the  early  secular  music.  The  only 
learned  people  were  the  monks  and  religious  teachers, 
and  they  devoted  their  attention  mainly  to  sacred 
music — especially  such  as  could  be  sung  in  churches. 
Sometimes,  perhaps,  weary  with  the  everlasting 
plain-song,  a  venturesome  spirit  might  hazard  an 
original  setting  of  a  canto  fermo  to  harmony  ;  but 
the  Gregorian  tunes  were  ill  adapted  to  harmonical 
treatment,  and  the  result  could  only  have  been  music 
in  parts,  with  most  stilted  harmony. 

The  popular  music — the  secular  art — was  not  so 
restricted.  Those  who  could  write,  and  who  under- 
stood musical  notation,  had  no  restrictions  in  the  in- 
vention of  tunes  and  ballad  airs,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  most  of  what  they  wrote  was  composed  in  those 
natural  major  and  minor  modes  which  we  use  to-day. 
Such  popular  music  as  was  written  down,  however, 
must   have    been    ill  -  proportioned    indeed    to    that 


PRINTING  AND  MUSIC  377 

which  was  carried  along  by  the  ears  of  the  people. 
Yet  scarcely  a  vestige  of  all  this  has  escaped  the 
untoward  conditions  of  age  after  age.  Unfavoured 
by  the  clergy,  secular  music  would  not  be  protected 
by  them.  As  all  books  and  MSS.  found  their 
way  eventually  to  the  monasteries  and  religious 
houses,  it  is  pretty  certain  that  not  a  little  secular 
music  was  confiscated  in  these  establishments.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  there  was  mischief  beyond 
clerical  resistance,  scarcity  of  copyists,  transcript- 
makers,  etc.  Before  long  there  came  the  dissolution 
of  the  monasteries — with  all  the  devastating  pro- 
cesses and  losses  to  literature  and  art  which  followed 
— when  musical  MSS.  and  books,  whether  sacred 
or  secular,  were  dispersed,  destroyed,  or  lost.  In 
this  way  England  lost  untold  musical  material — 
creative,  didactic,  and  historic,  which  it  is  hopeless 
to  expect  can,  or  will,  ever  be  restored.  We  can 
only  deplore  its  destruction,  and  admire  the  spirit  of 
the  Elizabethan  masters  which  led  them  to  repair 
the  mischief  as  far  as  it  lay  in  their  power  to  do  so. 

When  in  1437  Gutenberg  gave  the  world  his 
wonderful  invention  which  was  to  change  the  face  of 
the  world,  music,  as  well  as  literature,  was  immedi- 
ately affected.  Caxton  set  up  his  press  at  West- 
minster about  147 1 — i.e.,  in  Edward  IV.'s  reign 
(1 461- 1483) — not  long  after  which  time  music  began 
to  be  printed  instead  of  being  transcribed  and  dupli- 
cated with  the  pen. 


378 


THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 


CAXTON. 


The  first  work  printed  in  England  having  musical 
notation  was  the  Polychronicon,  written  in  Latin  by- 
Ralph  Higden — one  of  our  own  countrymen — which, 

being  translated  by  Trevisa  in 
1482,  was  subsequently  printed. 
Apart  from  its  printed  musical 
example,  this  work  is  of  in- 
terest from  the  quaint  account 
which  it  contains  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  harmonic  conso- 
nances by  Pythagoras  :  '  Here 
wyse  men  I  telle  that  Pieagoras 
passed  symetyme  by  a  smythes 
hous  and  herde  a  swete  soune 
and  accordynge  in  the  smytyng 
of  four  hamers  upon  an  anult,  and  therefore  he  lette 
way  the  hamers,  and  founde  that  one  'of  the  hamers 
weyed  six  ponds,  the  seconde  of  twelve,  the  thyrde 
of  eight,  the  fourth  of  ix.  as 
this  fygure  sheweth.'  In  the 
first  English  edition,  printed 
by  Caxton,  a  space  is  here  left  [ 
for  the  insertion  by  hand  of 
the  following  noting  of  the 
consonances  of  the  diapason. 

The  second  English  edition 
was  printed  by  Wynkyn  de 
Worde,  at  Westminster,  in  1495,  and  therein  the 
solitary  musical  example  is  printed  roughly  in  types 
for  the  first  time. 


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FIRST  PRINTED  MUSIC  BOOKS  379 

Considering  all  things,  the  growth  of  works  on 
music,  after  the  invention  of  printing,  was  remark- 
able. It  was  obviously  a  slow  process  to  print  any 
books,  whatever  their  nature  ;  but  it  is  encouraging 
to  know  that  by  the  year  1599  the  number  of  works 
on  music,  printed  in  England,  amounted  to  250, 
which  number  had  grown  to  420  by  the  year  1650,  . 
and  to  750  by  1700. 

It  need  hardly  be  pointed  out  that  a  boon  like 
printing  was  soon  seized  hold  of  in  connection  with 
musical  works,  and  it  is,  of  course,  to  it  that  we  are 
to-day  indebted  for  our  cheap  editions  in  music,  as 
well  as  in  literature  generally.  As  Sir  John  Hawkins 
observes  :  '  It  proved  an  effectual  remedy  for  all  the 
evils  arising  from  the  instability  of  musical  notation  ; 
and  besides  easing  the  public  in  the  article  of  expense, 
it  introduced  such  a  steady  and  regular  practice  as 
rendered  the  musical  an  universal  character.' 

With  the  invention  of  printing,  and  the  facilities 
thus  afforded  of  making  ideas  known,  the  expres- 
sion of  views  and  theories  respecting"  music  seem 
to  have  followed  in  a  perfectly  natural  sequence. 
The  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  is  marked  by 
several  disquisitions,  learned  and  otherwise,  upon 
music.  Thus,  about  1480  was  published  an  English 
translation  which  John  Trevisa  had  made  in  1398 
of  Bartholoma^us'  De  Propi'ietatibus  Reruni,  written 
in  Latin  about  1366,  and  one  of  the  earliest  books 
printed    in    England     bearing    upon     the    art    and 


380  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

science  of  music.  Another  work  '  Hymage  or 
Myrrour  of  the  Worlde,'  '  emprysed  and  fynyssed 
in  the  xxi  year  of  the  reign  of  the  most  crysten 
Kyng,  Kynge  Edward  the  fourth' — i.e.,  in  1481 
— was  printed  by  Caxton.  Its  twelfth  chapter  is 
headed  '  After  of  Music,'  wherein  the  writer  shows 
that  music  is  an  art,  because  it  ministers  to  the  soul. 
One  of  the  two  illustrations  which  it  contains  is  a 
man  playing  on  a  pipe.  Another  published  work 
was  the  oldest  English-printed  missal — the  Missale 
secundum  usunt  insignio  Ecclesicz  Sarum.  The  manu- 
script was  compiled  for  the  cathedral  church  of 
Salisbury,  in  the  eleventh  century,  by  St.  Osmund, 
Bishop  of  the  diocese.  The  earlier  missals,  accord- 
ing to  the  different  uses  of  Sarum,  Hereford  and 
York,  were  printed  for  English  use  at  Rouen.  For 
the  musical  notation  necessary  for  these  first  English 
printed  music-books  various  processes  were  em- 
ployed. In  some  issues  the  notes  were  printed 
from  wooden  blocks  ;  in  others  the  stave-lines  only 
were  printed,  for  the  notes  to  be  added  by  hand  ;  in 
others  the  stave-lines  and  the  notes  were  produced 
by  two  separate  printings  ;  and  early  in  the  sixteenth 
century  the  stave-lines  and  notes  were  printed  at 
once  from  musical  type.  This  Salisbury  missal  was 
printed  and  published  at  Westminster  through  the 
Wynkyn  de  Worde  press. 

Reviewing    the    situation,    Dunstable    forms    the 
strong  link  between  that  remarkable  epoch  of  the 


THE  HUNDRED  AXD  FIFTY  YEARS'  HIATUS       381 

early  English  School — the  First  English  School  it 
should  be  called — when  the  Rota,  or  Round,  '  Sumer 
is  icumen  in,'  was  composed  by  one  of  its  disciples, 
and  that  later  period  early  in  the  sixteenth  century 
when  musicians  like  Fairfax,  and  Cornyshe,  begin  to 
appear  to  form  the  Fourth  English  Period  School. 
Between  these  come  the  Third  English  School,  with 
such  names  as  Hamboys,  Saintwix  and  Abyngdon, 
of  whom  and  their  compositions  so  little  is  unhappily 
known. 

How  music  fared  during  the  150  years  which 
separate  that  famous  composition  (1250)  and  Dun- 
stable (1400)  is  a  mystery.  No  names  have  come 
down  to  us,  and  history  is  silent  upon  the  point.  It 
can  only  be  surmised  that,  amid  the  stormy,  troublous 
times  music  'went  to  the  dogs,'  and  that  there  was 
no  time  and  no  disposition  to  follow  it  up  ;  or  there 
was  every  prospect  of  such  a  small  band,  as  these 
musicians  were,  being  stamped  out,  or  that  they  would 
die  naturally  without  successors.  The  times  were 
ill  suited  to  sustained  regulated  study  such  as  the 
art  of  composition  demanded,  and  only  here  and 
there  could  be  found  a  patron  willing  to  lend  an  ear 
to  constructional  music,  or  to  open  his  purse  to  the 
man  who  made  it.  Church  music  would  be  going 
on  as  usual,  yet  only  to  the  extent  that  the  Roman 
service  needed  it  in  the  Mass  and  other  portions  of 
the  ritual.  This,  too,  would  be  restricted  to  the 
Gregorian  system,  probably,   for  the  age  of  service 


382  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

and  anthem  music  was  not  yet.  Unwritten  secular 
music — music  of  the  people — would  seem  to  be  all 
that  the  country  had  for  years  prior  to  the  time  of 
Dunstable  ;  yet  varied  and  plentiful  as  such  music 
was,  it  was  necessarily  transitional,  and  no  attempt 
appears  to  have  been  made  to  put  it  upon  parchment, 
or  otherwise  to  record  it.  The  extent  to  which  it 
served  musical  progress  was  consequently  but  little, 
if  we  except  the  bearing  it  had  in  keeping  people 
interested  in  music  until  those  better  days  when  it 
was  to  become  a  scientific  art. 

As  an  instance  of  the  fitful  conditions  surrounding 
music  in  its  early  stages  in  England,  and  as  some 
evidence  bearing  upon  its  seemingly  slow  develop- 
ment in  a  country  where  it  had  attained  to  such 
excellence  as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  watch  the  course  of  events  when 
Dunstable  died.  This  took  place  just  as  the  Wars 
of  the  Roses  broke  out — when  civil  war  ran  rife  here 
for  thirty  years.  After  Dunstable  we  hear  little 
more  of  the  English  musician  for  half  a  century  and 
more,  until  Christopher  Tye  was  born.  Here  and 
there  a  sovereign,  Edward  IV.  to  wit,  encouraged 
music  ;  but  the  creative  musician  was  sadly  missing. 
Not  only  was  the  musician  silenced,  but  when,  in 
course  of  time,  his  voice  was  heard  again,  it  was  of  a 
much  less  exalted  quality.  Dunstable — reputed  as 
excellent  a  musician  as  his  contemporary,  Dufay — 
was   far  superior    to    the    native  composers   of  the 


EARLY  ENGLISH  MUSICAL  SPIRIT  38; 


early  sixteenth  century.  Both  in  the  generation 
before  and  after  Dunstable,  therefore,  the  excellence 
of  the  thirteenth-century  music  was  far  from  main- 
tained. 

It  will  be  noted,  however,  that  we  do  not  need  to 
wait  until  the  Elizabethan  period — that  Augustan 
age  of  music  in  this  country — before  realizing  that 
England  possessed  at  odd  intervals  notabilities  in 
music  second  to  none,  and  often  surpassing,  those 
of  other  European  countries.  Nor  is  there  the 
slightest  room  for  doubt  respecting  our  pre-emi- 
nence and  supremacy  in  musical  art  during  the 
early  period  which  we  have  been  considering. 
England  led  the  way  with  a  school  of  music  and 
musicians — a  school  reflecting  the  true  British  style 
of  harmony  and  melody — before  any  other  country 
possessed  a  corresponding-  institution.  This  early 
English  School  fluctuated  both  in  its  measure  of 
excellence  and  succession  of  masters,  but  this  was 
due  solely  to  the  disturbed  conditions  of  the  times. 
The  English  musical  spirit  was  always  there,  and 
could  not  be  exterminated,  whatever  happened. 
No  other  country  possessed  so  much  dormant, 
slumbering  musical  vitality,  even  when  national 
matters  here  were  at  their  worst.  Yet  all  that  we 
have  had  has  been  ignored  by  foreign,  as  well  as  by 
several  English,  musical  historians  ! 

Here    we    must    break    our  story — one   which   is 
perforce  a  long  one,  yet  the  gradual  recounting  of 


384  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

which  will  not,  it  is  hoped,  have  been  wearying  to  the 
reader.  It  must  be  allowed  that  the  period  of  English 
musical  history  which  this  volume  covers  is  not  the 
most  interesting  one  ;  but  we  hope  to  make  amends 
for  this  in  the  next  volume.  Though  so  much  ground 
has  been  covered,  much  of  it  has  proved  barren  and 
sterile  from  sheer  force  of  political  influences,  which 
were  bound  to  operate  in  the  making  of  the  country 
and  its  people.  Some  of  these  processes  were  particu- 
larly unfavourable  to  music,  yet  they  had  to  go  on. 
In  some  of  these  fitful  years  music  is  seldom  trace- 
able, so  that  a  connected  story  respecting  it  becomes 
almost  impossible.  Then,  when  the  art  or  one  of  its 
workers  is  descried,  the  glimpse  is  so  slight  as  to  be 
almost  past  recording.  Nevertheless,  we  have  seen 
enough  to  convince  us  of  the  sure  and  solid  founda- 
tion upon  which  English  musical  art  is  based— a 
basis  which  easily  disposes  of  that  oft-put  query  as 
to  whether  there  is,  or  ever  was,  a  national  English 
musical  school  or  style.  We  may  rest  contentedly 
enough  about  this  point  from  the  evidence  already 
before  us.  Much  more  relating  to  English  musical 
lineage  is  to  follow,  and  when  the  whole  story  has 
been  told,  it  will  be  found  that  no  country — neither 
France,  Germany,  nor  Italy — has  so  ancient  an 
origin  in  music,  or  a  more  glorious  record  than  has 
England.  In  its  far-off  days  England  was  really  a 
more  distinctive  musical  nation  than  any  other,  and 
more  musically  characteristic  than  it  is  to-day. 


BEFORE  THE  TUDORS  385 

We  have  seen  what  this  country  was  doing 
musically  while  the  England  of  to-day  was  being 
formed  fourteen  and  fifteen  centuries  back  ;  we  have 
watched  the  rise  of  musical  notation  and  the  inven- 
tion of  materials  for  expressing  music,  and  have 
noted  how  greedily  our  ancestors  seized  hold  of 
these,  and  with  quill  and  parchment  left  us  splendid 
proofs  of  a  pure  First  Period  School ;  our  libraries 
have  a  few  treatises  and  manuscripts  which  place 
this  country  in  the  front  rank  for  her  musical  dis- 
putationists  and  writers  upon  the  theoretical  and 
speculative  aspects  of  music  ;  secular  music  and  that 
greater  art,  sacred  harmony,  have  blossomed  and 
grown  under  our  eyes  ;  musical  establishments 
and  systems  existing  to-day  have  been  founded 
and  put  upon  workable  footings — all  this  we  have 
seen  take  place  in  this  country  of  ours  prior  to  the 
rise  of  the  Tudors,  before  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

Yet  with  all  this  our  story  may  be  said  to  have 
hardly  begun.  We  have,  as  it  were,  only  just 
entered  upon  the  threshold  of  our  subject.  Hitherto 
the  times  have  been  stormy  and  the  soil  compara- 
tively unfavourable.  The  most  interesting  part  of 
our  narrative  has  yet  to  be  told.  Minstrelsy  can 
scarcely  be  left  until  we  have  shown  how  music  was 
long  recognised  by  provincial  cities  and  boroughs  as 
a  proper  subject  on  which  money  should  be  spent. 
The  records  of  such  corporations  as  Lincoln,  Leicester, 

25 


386  THE  STORY  OF  BRITISH  MUSIC 

etc.,  abound  in  interesting  details  of  the  encourage- 
ment of  music  and  of  the  retaining  of  civic  minstrels 
at  regular  salaries. 

With  Henry  VI I. 's  reign  a  vast  force  of  musical 
energy  bursts  forth — England  rises  to  her  fullest 
musical  strength,  and  native  musicians  whose  names 
will  ever  adorn  an  age  particularly  dear  to  English- 
men follow  one  another  with  great  frequency.  We 
have  a  glorious  period  before  us  in  the  Elizabethan 
age,  when  musicians  rose  up  who  were  as  great  in 
their  way  as  were  Shakespeare,  Bacon,  H alley  and 
Frobisher  in  theirs.  And  what  shall  we  say  of  the 
Victorian  era !  We  must  never  forget  the  men, 
however,  who  shared  in  the  struggles  of  England's 
first  musical  supremacy — the  men  who  made  the 
First,  Second  and  Third  English  Schools  of  Music. 

Principal  Authorities. 

'  History  of  the  Modern  Music  of  Western  )^. 

Europe '  J 

1  History  of  Music '     -         -         -         -         -  Naumann-Ouseley. 

'  History  of  Music '     -         -         -        -         -  Burney. 

'  Survey  of  London  '  -         -         -         -         -  Stowe. 

'  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians '  -         -  Grove. 

1  Chronicle ' Holinshed. 

'  Biographical  Dictionary  of  Musicians '        -  Brown. 

'  History  of  Music '    -         -         -         -         -  Stafford. 

'  English  Songs  ' Ritson. 

'  Social  England '-----  Cassell. 

1  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time '   -         -  Chappell. 

'  The  Organ  :  Its  History  and  Construction  '  Hopkins-Rimbault. 

The  Musical  Times Novello. 


INDEX. 


A. 
of 


St.     Martin's    at 


Aaron,    Abbot 

Cologne,  171 
Abelard,  187 
Abingdon  Abbey,  127 
Abingdon,  Henry,  348,  350,  381 
Aboriginal  British  music   3 
Accompaniments  in  religious  services, 

Orchestral,  29 
Adam  de  Orleton,  Bishop,  341 
Adelphius,  Bishop  of  Caerleon-on-Usk, 

43 
Adrian,  125 

Aedd  Mawr,  8 

^Elfheah,  128 

^Elfric,  170 

JEUa,  39,  101 

.-Ethelred  II.,  150 

^thelwold,    Death   of,   116  ;    Denedic- 

tional  of,  n6,  173 
Agatho,  Pope,  55,  57,  136 
Age,  Music  in  the  Stone  and  Flint,  2 
Agincourt  soldiers'  music,  353 
Aidan,  Bishop  of  the  Scots,  46,  48 
Airs,  Oldest  Irish,  Welsh,  and  Scottish, 

27  ;    of  the  Teuton  races,  National, 

155 
Alan,  78 
Alawn,  9,  75 
Alban,  St.,  28 
Albion's  musical  life,  Old,  9 
Alcuin,  62 
Aldhelm,     Bishop,    115,    126-128  ;    his 

famous  organ,  126 
Alexander  the  Great,  n 
Alfred,  King  and  minstrel,  158, 169, 173, 

189 ;    singing  and    harp-playing   of, 

160  ;  spying  the   Danish  camp,   160, 

161  ;  his  musical  example  and  worth, 
164  ;  connection  with  Oxford  Univer- 
sity, 164  ;  fondness  for  the  oral  Anglo- 
Saxon  poems  and  songs,  165 

Alfred's  reign,  Secular  music  in  King, 93 
Ambrose,  43,  101 
Ambrosian  Church  music,  xoi 


Amobr,  92 

Amphibalus,  28 

Aneurin,  80,  83 

'  Angelus  ad  Virginem,'  MS.,  283,  337; 

melody  of,  339 
Anglo-Saxon     musical     methods,     56  ; 

music,  113  ;  Church  music,  135 
Anselm,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  185 
Apollo,  56 
Aristotle,  11 
Armour,  Norman,  189 
Ars  Cant  us  Mensurabilis,  298 
Ars  Summaria  Contrapuncti,  293 
Arthur,  King,  82,  162,  219 
Artificial  instruments,  112 
Asser,  Bishop  of  Sherborne,  159,  165 
Athelstan's  camp,  King,  Music  in,  163 
Augustine,  28,  32,  40,  41,  42,  46,  59,  97, 

I25>  J37.   J39.   275  '•    the  coming  of, 

97;  safe  landing  of,  99 
Aulaff  in  King  Athelstan's  camp,  163 
Authors,  First  school  of  English  musical, 

295 
Avan  Verddig,  83 
Ave  Maria,  338 


B. 

Bacon,  386 

Bagpipes,  316 

Baini,  Abbe,  344 

Baldulph,  162 

Bale,  161,  166,  347 

Ballad,  Anglo-Saxon,  70 

Ballad-singer,  84 

Band,  Origin  of  the  Royal,  360 
is  and  Bardism  : 
Bard,  199 

Bard  of  the  King,  Harp,  72 
Bard  of  the  Palace,  90 
Bard,  Ensign,  72 
Bard,  Poetic,  72 
Bardd-Cadeiriawg,  90 
Bardd  Teulu,  90 
Bardic  laws,  Welsh,  89 


388 


INDEX 


Bards  and  Bardism : 
Bardic  Triads,  73 
Bardic  usage,  81 
Bards,  British,  76 
Bards,  Congress  of,  74 
Bards,  Golden  Torque,  80 
Bards,  King  of,  80 
Bards,  King  supreme  of,  81 
Bards,  King  Vortigern's,  81 
Bards,  Massacre  of,  233 
Bards,  Occupations  of,  79 

Bartholomseus,  379 

Bass,  335 

Beatrice,  wife  of  Richard,  harper  to 
Henry  III.,  231 

Beauchamp,  Lord  John,  315 

Becket,  Thomas  a,  Chancellor  of  Eng- 
land, 187,  230 

Bede,  51,  56,  59,  61,  70,  75,  in,  113, 
114,  116,  136,  166 

Beli  the  Great,  jj 

Bells,  116 

Benedictional  of  St.  /Ethelwold,  116 

Benedict  Biscop,  55,  56,  57,  59 

Beowulf,  49,  50 

Bertha,  Queen,  100 

Binchois,  344 

Black  Prince,  261 

Blegywryd,  77 

Blithe,  Hanecocke  de,  236 

Blondel,  217,  219,  220,  221,  222,  223; 
his  song,  225 

Boisescue,  Le  Roy,  237 

Bottle  de  Toulmon,  205 

'  Bourdons,'  314 

Bradshaw,  F.S.A. ,  Henry,  339 

Brenin  Penbeirdd,  81 

Breve,  149,  284,  297 

Brigantia,  7 

British,  Music  among  the  early,  17  ; 
musical  customs  of  the,  17  ;  music 
at  the  funerals  of  the,  20  ;  music,  style 
of,  22  ;  music,  character  of,  22  ;  music 
before  the  Saxon  invasion,  27  ;  musi- 
cal character  of  the,  35  ;  first  music 
of  the  early,  36,  37  ;  musical  concerts, 
64 

Britons,  Vocal  music  of  the  ancient,  12, 
16 ;  music  among  the  ancient,  16 ; 
method  or  system  among  the,  21 

Bronze  Period,  6 

Brutus,  King,  9 

Buccina,  12 

Buccinator,  A  Roman,  14 

Bugle-horn,  92 

Bull,  Dr. ,  370 

Burney,  Dr.,  45,  66,  94,  152,  178,  182, 
205,  207,  276,  285-289,  292,  293,  295, 
296,  299,  300,  302,  325,  336,  338,  345, 

348,  354-  357 
'  By  Chance  it  Was,'  273 


C. 

Cadeir-fardd,  91 

Cadvan,  King,  83,  no 

Cadwaladr,  14,  78 

Cadwallon,  King,  83 

Casdmon,  50,  53,  56,  166  ;  dream  of,  53  ; 
musical  disabilities  of,  51 

Caesar,  72,  73 

Cambridge,  Earl  of,  261 

Camulus,  7 

Canticle,  99 

Canticum,  112 

'  Cantionum  Artificialum  diversi 
Generis,'  348 

Canute,  King,  167  ;  and  music,  168  ;  as 
a  musician,  168 

Caractacus,  2 

Carleton,  236 

Carol,  18 

Carotick,  Prince  of  Wales,  31 

'  Carta  le  Roy  de  Minstrala,'  247 

Cassiodorus,  126 

Casswallon,  87 

Castile  and  Leon,  King  of,  247 

Caupenny,  Le  Roy,  229,  237 

Caw,  80 

Caxton,  324,  372,  378,  380;  portrait  of, 
378 

Cedd,  47 

Celtic  whistle,  6 

Cenwulf,  in 

Chaired  Bard,  90,  91 

Champaigne,  Le  Roy  de,  237 

Champagne,  Mareschal  of,  229 

'  Chanson  de  Geste,'  206 

'  Chanson  de  Roland,'  205,  206,  211 

Chant,  Early  English,  29  ;  singing  of 
the  Last  Supper,  29 ;  introduction 
of  the  Gregorian,  42  ;  Gallican,  42, 
43  ;  Ambrosian,  43,  44,  46,  101  ;  Gre- 
gorian, 171 

Chanting,  46,  286 

Chants  and  melodies,  Remnants  of 
ancient  sacrificial,  18 

Chapels  Royal  founded,  359 

Chappell,    William,    64,    65,   244,   276, 

372 
Charlemagne,  62,  203-206 
Charles  I.,  179 
Charter,  John  of  Gaunt's,  248 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  306,  311,  317,  324- 

327,  329.  334.  336>  337-  34i  I  '  Can- 
terbury Tales,'  326  ;  '  Pardoner,'  327 ; 
and  singing,  331  ;  portrait  of,  326  ; 
as  a  Canterbury  pilgrim,  331  ;  and 
minstrelsy,  333 

Children,  Chapel  Royal,  363 

Chilston,  303 

Chinese  song  in  praise  of  the  dead,  8 

Choir  books,  140 

Choristers,  Early  Church,  102 


INDEX 


339 


Choron,  45 

Christ,  39,  137 

Chroma,  149 

Church,  Music  kept  alive  by  the,  2  ; 
before  the  Conquest,  ancient  British. 
33  ;  music,  Celtic,  56,  58  ;  Roman 
service  introduced,  97 ;  chants  and 
melodies  of  the  Roman,  98,  111  ;  of 
St.  Martin,  100  ;  instruments  in  the, 
106  ;  services,  instruments  employed 
in,  134 

Church  music,  Earliest,  18,  29  ;  Galli- 
can,  41,  42  ;  influence  of,  183  ;  second 
epoch  in,  106  ;  the  first  Roman,  107, 
171 

Church  service  music,  29,  30 

Churches,  British,  32  ;  of  Great  Britain 
to-day,  98  ;  repairing  the,  109 

Cissa,  39 

Cithar,  12 

Cithara,  106,  113 

Citole,  335 

Clairseach,  Irish,  5 

Clarion,  335 

Claudia,  2 

Clemens  Alexandrinus,  106 

Cloister,  Music  of  the,  69 

Coel  Godbebog,  16 

Coirfi,  47 

Colet,  John,  368 

Colgrin,  162 

Columba,  47,  48,  76 

Composers,  Famous  British,  165 

Congress  music,  A.D.  1100,  181 

Conquest,  Music  at  the,  199 

Convivial  music,  114 

Cornyshe,  381 

Corus,  113 

Costumes,  time  of  Henry  II.,  English, 
230 

Cotton,  John,  151,  289  ;  MSS.,  113,  115, 

151.  171 

Counterpoint,  66  ;  first  steps  in,  135 

Counter-tenor,  335 

Court  musicians,  King's,  360;  musi- 
cians' emoluments,  361 

Coussemaker,  289,  291,  299,  350 

Cradle-song,  157 

Crella,  82 

Crellan,  soldier-bard,  177 

Cromwell,  169 

Crotch,  Dr.,  375;  his 'Chanson  Roland,' 
213 

Crotchet,  Introduction  of  the,  150 

Crotta,  14 

Crout,  Ferformer  on  three-stringed,  95 

Crowd,  244  ;  English,  373 

Crowder,  15 

Crowdero,  16 

Crowther,  15 

Cruit,  Irish,  5 


Crwth,  14,  15,  72 ;  construction  of  the, 

IS 

Cubelyn,  77 

Cuthbert,  61 

Cymbals,  106,  112  ;  Anglo-Saxon,  114 

Cymry,  74 

Cynewulf,  86 

Cynvelyn,  88 

Cytolen,  317 


D. 

Dance,  Ninth-century,  138 

Danes,    Coming    of    the,    167  ;    music 

under    the,     169  ;     influence     upon 

English   music,    169  ;    sacred    music 

under  the,  171 
Data,  Early  musical,  115 
David,  106 
Davy,  Adam,  341 
'  De  Arte  Musica,'  151 
'  De  Gestis  Regum  Anglorutn,'  70 
'  De  Legitimis  Ordlnlbus  Pentachordo- 

rum  et  Tetrachordorum,'  303 
'  De  Mensura bills  Musica,'  342 
'  De  Muslcd  Contlnud  et  Dlscreta  cum 

Dlagrammatlbus,'  291 
'  De  Orlglne  et  Effectu  Muslcez,'  296 
'  De  Proprletatlbus  Rerttm,'  379 
'  De  Quatuor  Principalibus  in  quibus 

tot  I  us  Musica:    Radices   Conslstunt,' 

291 
'  De  Speculatlone  Musica '  tract,  The, 

285,  289 
Decani  and  cantoris,  29 
Demisemiquaver,  150 
Deo  Gratlas,  357 
Deor,  85 

Descant,  66  ;  specimens  of,  67 
Devon,  Earl  of,  249,  254 
Devonshire,  Duke  of,  116 
D'Evreaux,  226 
Diaconus,  Paul,  144 
Diapason,  116 
Diapente,  116 
Diatessaron,  116 
Dinoth,  Abbot  of  Bangor,  32 
Domlnus  Voblscum,  64 
Druids  and  Druidism,  7,  8 
Drum,  14,  112,  114 
Dubritius,  Archbishop,  82 
Dufay,  344,  346,  382;  epoch,  243 
Dugdale,  284 
Dulcimer,  106,  317,  335 
Dunstable,    John,    321,    322,  342-345, 

351,  380-383;  MSS.,    346;    place  of 

burial,  343  ;  tomb,  343 
Dunstan,    118,    126 ;    and   the   angels, 

121  ;   accused  of  sorcery,    121  ;  as  a 

composer,  121 
Dwned,  217 


39o 


INDEX 


Dyfnwal,  9 

Dyvnwal  Moclmud,  Triads  of,  74 


E. 
Ealhhild,  Queen,  84 
East,  Music  of  the,  27 
Easter  Hymn,  60 
Eborius,  Bishop  of  York,  43 
Ecclesice  Sarum,  380 
Edde,  59 

Edgar,  King,  116,  121,  127 
Edilfrid,  King  of  Deira,  110 
Edred,  King,  170 
Edward  the  Confessor,  174,  226 
Edward  I. ,  232-234,  236,  291  ;  his  array 

of  minstrels,  234 
Edward  II.,  241,  242,  258 
Edward  IV.,  347,  352,  377,  382  ;  music 

during  the  Jreign  of,  359  ;  portrait  of, 

360  ;  music  encouraged  by,  365 
Edward  V.,  369 
Edward,  Prince,  237 
Egbert,  62 

Egelric.  Abbot  of  Croyland,  116 
Eidiol  Gleddyfeud,  jj 
Einion,  217 

Eisteddfod,  Welsh,  73,  92 
Eleanor,  228 

Elizabeth,  Queen  of  Edward  IV.,  366 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  259,  371  ;  rules  and 

regulations  for  minstrels,  260 
Elizabethan  period  of  musical  history, 

383 
Ella,  162 

Elphegus  Calvus,  128 
Elphin,  87 
Elwin,  Earl,  127 
England,  and  the  making  of  music,  264  ; 

musical,  266  ;  place  of  in  disputative 

music,  267 
English,  The,  as  a  musical  nation,  33  ; 

musical  annals,   early,   118  ;   musical 

spirit,  early,  383 
English  music,  Factors  in,  71 
Ethelbert,  King,  98,  99 
Ethelmer,  170 
Ethelred,  Death  of,  159 
Ethelwold,  170 
Eubates,  75 
Evensong,  124  ;  music,  61 


Faidit,  Anselm,  224 

Fairfax,  236,  381 

Families'  musicians.  Private,  367 

'  Fathom  the  Bowl,'  274 

Fiddle,  335 

Fin  Folcwalding,  50 

Fitz-Stephen,  192,  193 


Flageolet,  The,  316 

Flint  whistle,  3 

Flute,  29,  116,  124,  197,  235 

Folk-music,  270  ;  factor  in,  271  ;  nature 

of,  272  ;  British,  272 
Folk-songs,  17,  272  ;  traditional,  275 
Foreign  influence,  First,  39 
Forkel,  287 
Fornsete,  John,  276 
Franchinus  (Gafurius),  152,  342,  345 
Franco,  57,  69,   141-150,  283,  284,  287, 

288,    290,  298,  303,  305  ;  notation  of, 

144;  and  the  measuring  of  music,  148  ; 

tract,  a  commentary  on,  298 
Frobisher,  386 
Fulgentius   Episc.    Anglorum,    Bishop, 

151 
Funeral  song,  20,  22 


G. 

Gabbet,  9 

Gafurius  or  Gafforius,  152,  342,  345 

Galfridus  Citharsedus,  217 

Gallican  chant,  137 

Gaucelm,  224 

Gebertus,  151 

'  Gemma  Ecclesiastica,'  63 

Gemmain,  48 

Geoffrey,  236 

George  II.,  226 

Geraint  ab  Erbin,  82 

Geraint,  harper  to  King  Alfred,  167 

Germanus,  Bishop,  41 

Germany,  Great  tone  poets  of,  290 

Gervase,  311 

Gigue,  Thirteenth-century,  316,  317 

Gildas,  31,  64 

Giraldus  Cambrensis,  63,  64,  66,  70 

Glastonbury,  Squabble  at,  176 

'  Glee,'  Origin  of  the  word,  94 

Glee-beam,  85 

Gleeman,  50,  84,  95 

Glewlwyd  Gavaelvawr,  82 

'  Gloria  in  Excelsis,'  243 

Godbebog,  Helen,  16 

Goldeburgh,  173 

Gower,  John,  317,  324 

Gregory,  Pope,  41,  62,  98,  100,  102,  108, 

139,  171,  176 
Gregorian  music,  58-98,    105-134,  141, 

320-376  ;  method  of  the,  42  ;  tones, 

the  eight,  104  ;  era  of  the,  106;  chant, 

107  ;  music,  spread  of,  108 
Grimbald  the  monk,  159 
Grimmeshawe,  Adam  de,  236 
Grosseteste,  306,  307 
Gryffydd  ab  Cynan,  Prince,  177,  180 
Gryme  the  fisher,  173 
Guido  d'Arezzo,  21,  57,  69, 141,  144,  150- 

152,  283,  284,  289,  293,  303  ;  method 


INDEX 


39 1 


of  lines,  notes,  and  spaces,  141.  144  ; 

on  his  system,  145  ;  portrait  of,  146 ; 

letter  notation,  with  deciphering,  287 
Guidonian  or  harmonic  hand,  156 
Guillaume  '  sans  maniere,'  236 
Guitar,  193,  317 
Gunhilda,  169,  170,  173 
Gutenberg,  377 
Guthrum,  173 

'  Gwenllian's  Repose,'  Harmony  of,  19 
Gwenlliant,  Princess,  18 
Gwrgan  Varvdrwch,  76 
Gwrhir,  81 
Gwron,  9,  75 
Gwyddon  Guabebon,  76 
Gwythelin,  76 


H. 

Haberl,  Dr.,  346 

Haleford,  Richard  de,  236 

Halley,  386 

Halliday,  Walter,  366 

Hamboys,  John,  347,  350,  381 

Handlo,  Robert,  298,  299 

Hanelock,  the  Dane,  173 

Hardicanute,  169,  173 

Harmonical  proportions,  285 

Harmonic  hand  system,  151 

Harmonics,  285 

Harmonists,  Spontaneous,  153 

Harmony,  268  ;  early  addiction  of  the 
Welsh  and  British  to,  15  ;  of  '  Gwen- 
llian's Repose,'  19  ;  in  Wales,  21  ; 
pure  British,  30 ;  vocal  and  instru- 
mental, 33  ;  symphonious,  65  ;  Chris- 
tianity and  the  development  of,  269  ; 
first  adoption  of,  269  ;  (vocal),  in 
Chaucer's  day,  337 

Harold,  174,  203 

Harp,  The,  12,  14,  16,  20,  22,  50,  51, 
63,  81,  96,  106,  113,  119,  120,  124, 
166,  341  ;  most  ancient  form  of  Irish, 
5  ;  triangular  Saxon,  42  ;  imperial 
performers  on  the,  82  ;  of  the  ninth 
century,  93  ;  mode  of  playing  in  King 
Alfred's  time,  94  ;  the  triangular,  112  ; 
/Eolian,  121  ;  fifteen-stringed,  227 

Harp-lute,  113 

Harp-music,  Chorus,  235 

Harper,  199 

Harper  and  singer,  British,  21 

Harper-singers,  Some,  236 

Harpers,  Anglo-Saxons  as,  116 

Hautboy,  335 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  66,  276,  338,  379 

Heart  music,  193 

Heber,  5 

Hengest,  50,  162 

Henry  I.,  185  ;  portrait  of,  185  ;  coro- 


nation of,   185 ;    social  music  in  the 

reign  of,  187 
Henry  II.,  193,  217,  229,  230 
Henry    HI.,    216,    231,    284  ;    minstrel 

patronage  of,  231 
Henry  V.,  358;  portrait  of,  352;   and 

music,  352 
Henry  VI.,  244  ;  music  during  the  reign 

of,"  358  ;  portrait  of,  358 
Henry  VII.,  273,  386 
Henry  VIII.,  342 
Henry  d'Avranches,  232 
Henry  of  Huntingdon,  162,  184 
Henry  the  Versifier,  Master,  232 
Heorrenda,  85 
Herbert,  341 

Hercules  II. ,  Duke  of  Modena,  346 
Heremon,  5 
Hertford,  Earl  of,  261 
Higden,  Ralph,  378 
Hilary,  46 
Hilda,  Abbess,  51 
Hildeburh,  50 
Hnaef,  50 

'  Hoblate,  The,'  310 
Holinshed,  176,  347 
Horn,  6,  14,  316,  335 
Hothby,  John,  350,  351  ;  MS.,  351 
Howard,  Lady,  367 
Howard,  Lord,  367 
Howel,  75,  90 
Howel  Dha,  89 
Hrothgar,  50 
Hu,  76 

Hugh  de  Dutton,  227 
'  Hunt  is  Up,  The,'  335 
Hunting-horn,  115 
Hunting  with  hound  and  horn,  320 
Hvde  Abbey,  116 
'  Hvmage  or  Myrrour  of  the  Worlde, 

380 
Hymn  of  St.  John,  145 
Hymns   of    the   Anglo-Saxon    Church, 
Latin,  172 


I. 

Iberio-musical  proofs,  6 

Idris,  13 

Incantation,  Cunobline's,  88 

Ingulph,  162 

Inns  of  Court  music,  335 

Instinct,  National  musical,  37 

Instrument,  Angel  performing  on  a 
stringed,  152 ;  playing  among  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  165 

Instrumental  music,  16 

Instruments,  Artificial,  112  ;  early  Eng- 
lish, 308  ;  secular  musical,  317 

Ireland,  Songs  and  music  of,  48 

Irish,  Musical  notation  of  the,  21 


392 


INDEX 


J- 
Jacob,  296 

Jongleur,  Last  state  of  the,  216 
Johannes  Scholasticus,  151 
John,  57,  236 
John,  Friar,  159  ;  Praslector- Professor  of 

Music,  164 
John  of  Gaunt,  246,  247,  285  ;  charter 

of,  248 
John  of  Salisbury,  187,  188 
John,  King  of  France,  204 
John  de  Dutton,  228 
John  de  Salopia,  236 
John  (or  Thomas)  of  Tewkesbury,  297, 

298 
John  of  Whethamstede,  343 
Joseph  of  Arimathea,  St.,  28 
Julius  Csesar,  8,  26 


K. 

Kiesewetter,  287,  288,  343 

'  King's  Note,'  or  Chant  Royal,  331 

Klay,  246 

Kyrie,  119 


L. 

Lacy,  John  de,  228 

Lambyn  Clay,  236 

Lancaster,  Earl  of,  241 

Lancaster,  Duke  of,  247,  249,  261 

Langland,  341 

Laodicean  Council,  29 

Large,  149 

Launfel,  245 

Laus  Perennis,  55 

Lawrence,  236 

Leah,  296 

Leges  Wallica,  89 

Le  Grand,  201 

Leofric,  226 

Leopold  of  Austria,  Duke,  219,  220 

'  L  Homme  Arme",'  205 

Liber  de  Antiquis  Legibus,  373 

Linos,  Greek,  7 

Linus,  2 

Litany,  99 

Liturgy,  Roman,  58 

Llywarch  Hen,  Prince,  81,  82 

Long,  149 

Louis  VII.,  230 

Loup,  Duke  of  Champagne,  14 

Ludd,  7 

Luke  de  Barre,  186 

Lupus,  Bishop,  41 

Lute,  113,  335  ;   thirteenth-century,  247 

Lute-player,  244 

Luyddawe,  Helen,  16 

Lyndsey,  William,  367 


Lyre,  4,  12,  20,  86,  106,  112 
Lyres  and  cithars,  Roman,  12,  13 


M. 

Madden,  Sir  Frederick,  276 

Maelgwn  Gwynedd,  87 

Maelgwn,  King,  87 

Maglocune,  47 

Maneros,  Egyptian,  8 

Manogan,  Emperor,  77 

Mapon,  7 

Marchis,  Le  Roy,  237 

Margaret,  228 

Marguerite,  Countess  of  Hennegau,  221 

Martini,  Padre,  152 

Matilda,  Queen,  186 

Matins,  124 

Matthew,  236 

Maud,  Empress,  189 

Meirion,  14 

Melody,  268,  286 ;  plain-song,  66  ;  Rus- 
sian soldier's,  155 

Melody  and  harmony,  The  earliest,  2 

Melynek,  John,  369 

Mensural  music,  England  and,  287 

Merlin,  236 

Minim,  149,  150 

Minstrel  control,  Legislative,  258 

Minstrels,  The,  197;  Alfred's  Court  and, 
167;  definition  of,  201  ;  the  Norman, 
201,214;  wit,  215;  privileges  of,  226  ; 
at  important  weddings,  228  ;  employ- 
ments for,  228  ;  kings  of  the,  229  ; 
engaged  at  the  marriage  of  Margaret, 
230  ;  Edward  I.  saved  by  a  minstrel, 
233 ;  payments  of,  236  ;  dress,  241  ; 
pillar,  245  ;  king  of  the,  247,  248  ; 
John  of  Gaunt's  charter  to  the,  248  ; 
of  honour,  259  ;  obligation  to,  263  ;  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  361,  365  ;  the 
last  of  the,  370;  Bull's  epitaph  on,  370 

Minstrelsy,  196  ;  the  Norman  element, 
191  ;  Norman,  198  ;  effect  of,  216  ; 
book  of,  217  ;  decline  of,  255  ;  causes 
of  decline  of,  257  ;  survivals  of,  261  ; 
Edward  IV.  and,  366 

'  Miserere,'  The,  59 

'  Missa  Rex  Splendens,'  122 

Missale  secundum  usum  insignis,  380 

Modes,  Ambrose's  '  Authentic, '  43  ; 
ecclesiastical,  102  ;  Gregory's  '  Plagal,' 
102  ;  '  Authentic,'  102  ;  Church,  103 

Monachus,  Joannes,  165 

Monks,  Musical  tastes  of  the,  124 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  349,  350 

Morley,  299,  300,  342,  345 

Muris,  John  de,  292-294,  350  ;  and  the 

time-table,  292  ;  his  writings,  293 
'  Mus.  Bac.,'  First  Cambridge,  349 
'Mus.  Doc.,' First  English,  347 


INDEX 


393 


Music,  Uses  for,  18  ;  and  ritual  at  cere- 
monials, 31  ;  our  national,  36  ;  species 
of,  38  ;  ecclesiastical,  41,  42  ;  master, 
in  the  North,  58  ;  our  earliest,  68  ; 
notation  of,  69  ;  decay  of  original 
British,  83  ;  a  priceless  gift  of,  139  ; 
domestic,  157  ;  advent  of  scientific, 
261  ;  aim  and  end  of  all,  268  ;  formu- 
lating, 321 

Music  writers  and  theorists,  First,  69 

'  Mitsica  Guidonis  Monachi,'  296 

'  Mitsica  Pratica,'  56 

1  Mitsica  Speculativa,'  294 

'  Mitsica  Theoretica,'  56 

Musical  exercise,  13 

Musical  houses,  Monastic,  no 

Musical   methods,   Fourteenth-century, 

34i 

Musicians,  The,  371 

'  Musike,  Of  the  Cordis  of,'  300 

'  Mwynen  Gwynedd,'  77 


N. 

Nablium,  112 

Nabulum,  The,  113 

Naumann,  288 

Neolithic  Period,  10 

Nero,  188 

Neume  notation  characters  invented  by 
St.  Ephraim,  141 

Neume  notation  of  Guido  of  Arezzo, 
142  ;  of  the  tenth  century,  142  ;  of 
the  eleventh  century,  142 ;  of  the 
latest  period,  deciphered,  142 

Nicholas,  Abbot,  175 

Nicholas,  330,  337 

Norman  music  material,  191  ;  music, 
influence  of  the,  214 

Normans,  English  music  under  the,  177 

Northfolke,  236 

Notation,  Musical,  69  ;  invention  of, 
141,  283  ;  ancient  Welsh,  181 

Notes  and  rests,  149 


O. 

Ockenheim,  344 

Odin,  or  Odyn,  84,  88,  98 

Odington,  284-289,  291,  307;  MS., 
385  ;  notes  or  characters  used  during 
the  time  of,  286 

Odo,  Bishop,  174 

Ofydd,  7 

Olave,  King  of  the  Danes,  163 

'  Orddigan  Hun  Gwenllian,'  19 

Ordericus  Vitalis,  184 

Organ,  The,  335  ;  Anglo-Saxon,  112  ; 
early,  keys  of,  112  ;  primitive  hy- 
draulic, 120  ;  introduction  into  Eng- 
land, 123,   124;   keyboard,   125;  first 


use  of  in  England,  125  ;  fourth  cen- 
tury, pneumatic,  125  ;  difficulty  in 
learning  the  art  of  playing,  125  ;  art 
of  playing  brought  to  England,  126  ; 
Ramsay  Convent,  127  ;  workers,  Eng- 
lish, 127  ;  Abingdon  Abbey,  127  ; 
Winchester  Cathedral,  128  ;  Bede's 
description  of  an,  128  ;  character  of 
first  English,  128 ;  poem  on  Wulf- 
stan's  Winchester,  129  ;  method  of 
blowing,  129 ;  method  of  playing 
Wulfstan's  Winchester,  130;  influence 
of  the,  133  ;  ancient  English  Church, 
133  ;  burning  of  Canterbury  Cathe- 
dral, 311  ;  of  Ely  Cathedral,  bill  for 
repairing  the,  312  ;  Westminster 
Abbey,  313 

Organistrum,  154 

Organists,  The  first,  125 

Organ-pipes,  Proportions  of,  285 

Organs,  feature  of  Anglo-Saxon,  126  ; 
representations  of  early  English,  132 ; 
portative  or  portable,  310  ;  loaning 
of,  313  ;  bellows  in  early  English,  314 

Oriental  musical  influence,  4 

Origen,  28 

Oron,  64 

O  Rosa  Bella,  342 

Orpheus,  20 

Osburga,  159 

Osmund,  St.,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  380 

Oswald,  King,  48 

Ouseley,  Sir  Frederick  A.  Gore,  21,  26, 
153,  288,  375 

Owain  Cyveilliog,  Prince,  90 

Owain  Gwynedd,  Prince,  90 

Owain,  Prince  of  Reged,  82 

Oxford,  Founding  of  the  Chair  of  Music 
at,  165 


P. 

Pagan  theatrical  music,  101 

'  Painful  (Faithful)  Plough,'  274 

Paris,  Matthew,  314 

Parker,  Archbishop,  285 

Part-music,  68 

Part-singing  in  Wales,  Early,  63 

Patrick,  St.,  31,  32,  47 

Paul,  Diaconus,  144 

Paul,  St.,  2 

Paul  the  Deacon,  58 

Paulinus,  48 

Paulmy,  Marquis  de,  207 

Pavement,  Origin  of  musical,  20 

Pencerdd,  91,  92 

Pencerdd  Gwlad,  92 

Pennola,  113 

Pepusch,  Dr.,  299 

Percy,  Bishop,  262 

Peter  the  Hermit's  Crusade,  185 


394 


INDEX 


Pipe,  4  ;  the  shepherd's,  335 

Pits,  347 

Plainsong,  312 

Plantagenets  and  music,  264 

Plectra,  115 

Plectrum,  94,  317 

Plennyd,  9,  64 

Polychronicon,  378 

Polyphony,  or  part-writing,  265 

Poveret,  229 

Power,  Lionel,  300,  302,  303  ;  his 
treatise,  301  ;  his  musical  characters, 
302 

'  Practica  Cantus  Mensurabi/is,'  293 

Prick-song,  66 

Primitive  institutional  bards,  9 

Printed  music-books,  First,  379 

Printing  and  music,  377 

Prolation,  304 

Prydain,  8 

Psalm,  99,  171 

Psalter,  Latin-Saxon,  113 ;  Utrecht, 
125  ;  Kentish,  171 

Psalterium,  113 

Psaltery,  106,  112,  317  ;  triangular,  112  ; 
David  performing  on  a,  113  ;  per- 
former on  a  square,  114 ;  performer 
on  a  circular,  229  ;  performer  on  a 
fourteenth-century,  337 

Purcell,  114 

Pythagoras,  378 

Pytheas,  11,  12 


Quaver,  150 

'  Quen  of  euene  for  ye  blisse,'  340 

'  Quid  est  Proportio,'  351 


R. 

Rachel,  296 

Randal,  Earl,  227 

Rahere,  186 

Ravenscroft,  342,  345 

'  Reading  Rota,'  338 

Regals,  309 

Reginald  '  le  menteur,'  236 

'  Regulcs  cum  Maximo  Magistri  Fran- 

cotiis,     cum     additionibus     aliorum 

musicorum,    compilatce   a   Robert  de 

Hatidlo,'  298 
'  Regulm  Magistri  Johan  Torksey,'  297 
'  Regulce    Magistri    Thomce     Walsing- 

ham,'  299 
'  Regulce  super  Proportionem,'  351 
Remi,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  174 
Restitutus,  Bishop  of  London,  43 
Rhys  ab  Griffith,  Prince,  18 
Ribible,  335 
Richard  I.,  217,  218  ;  and  Blondel,  217, 


226 ;  love-song,  221 ;  song  of  com- 
plaint, 223 

Richard  II.,  247,  248 

Richard  III.,  Music  during  the  reign 
of,  369 

Richard,  236 

Richard  de  Haleford,  236 

Richard,  harper  to  Henry  III.,  231 

Richard,  Prince,  260 

Richard,  Duke  of  York,  369 

Ritson,  200 

Robert,  185 

Robert  of  Brunne,  173 

Robert  de  Colecestria,  236 

Robert  de  Lacy,  227 

Robert  de  Scardeburghe,  236 

Roland,  203,  204 ;  song  of,  205-207 ; 
military  song  on  the  French  Cham- 
pion, 207 

Rollo  the  Ranger,  199,  202 

Roman  influence,  12  ;  music,  58 

Rote,  335 

Rufus,  185  ;  music  under,  183 


Sackbut,  335 

Sacred  music,  58  ;  earliest,  28  ;  re- 
sources, early,  32  ;  teaching,  43 ;  in 
services,  no;  in  the  hands  of  the 
clergy,  139 

Saintwix,  Thomas,  347,  350,  381 

Saladin,  218 

Sambuca-Canticum,  115 

Saxon,  Musical  art  of  the,  37,  41  ;  glee 
hall,  49  ;  musical  instruments  of  the, 
53,  in  ;  part-singing,  63;  music,  de- 
cline of,  95  ;  period,  musical  progress 
during  the,  no  ;  musical  influence, 
late,  155 

Scald,  199 

Scalds,  Saxon,  83  ;  Danish,  162 

Scales,  '  Plagal,'  102  ;  the  Greek,  285 

School,  First  musical  training,  61  ;  first 
English,  for  teaching  the  art  of  music, 
164  ;  of  third  English  music,  381 

School  of  English  Music,  Earliest  days 
of  the,  338  ;  founder  of  the  second, 
342  ;  second  period  of  the,  345  ;  third 
period   of   the,    350  ;   fourth   period, 

381 
Scientific  musical  system,  Our,  22 
Sc,6p,   96,    199  ;    success    of   the,    85 ; 

Deor,   '  the   Lament '   of,  85  ;   songs 

and  music  of  the,  87 
'  Scriptorum  de  Musicd  Medii  sEvi,' 

299 
Secular  music,  no;  English,  376 
Semibreve,  149,  150,  284 
Semichroma,  149 
Semiminim,  149 


INDEX 


395 


Service  of  Perpetual  Praise,  55 

Service  of  Prayer  and  Praise,  40 

Shakespeare,  324,  386 

Shalm,  335 

Sheale,  Richard,  370 

Singing  :  in  the  Church,  62  ;  at  Milan 
Cathedral,  44;  the  Angles  in,  65; 
Norman  influence  upon,  175 

Smith,  John  Stafford,  357,  373 

Sol-fa  system,  Originator  of  the,  144 

Solmization,  283 

Song:  of  the  soil,  17;  bardic,  48;  Ger- 
man peasant,  155 ;  Saxon  popular, 
173  ;  of  Roland,  204  ;  Master  of  the, 
348  ;  of  Agincourt,  354,  358  ;  of  a 
prisoner,  373 

'  Speculum  Musics:,'  294 

Speed, 162 

Spelman,  Sir  John,  161 

Squire,  Barclay,  346 

Stapylton,  Nicholas,  367 

Stephen,  King,  184-189  ;  music  under, 
189  ;  portrait  of,  190  ;  spread  of 
Church  music  under,  190 ;  Church 
services  at  the  time  of,  192 

Stone  Age,  10 

Stonehenge,  Druids'  temple,  74 

Stowe,  242,  343 

Style  and  manner,  Moulding  the  musi- 
cal, 136 

Suffolk,  Earl  of,  261 

'  Sumer  is  icumen  in,'  276-282,  322,  336, 

338.  358.  373.  375.  381 
'  Summutn  Artis  Musices,   348 
System,  Ecclesiastical  music,  31 
System,  Gregory's,  62 


Tabor,  244 

Tacitus,  73 

Taillefer,  203-205,  210 

Talhaim  Tad  Awen,  82 

Taliesin,  40,  82,  87-89 

Tallis,  297 

Te  Deum,  Ambrosian,  44 

Teilaw,  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  81 

Temple,  Musical  system  of  the,  106 

Tenor,  152,  153,  335  ;  clef,  in  Church 

music,  153 
Tertullian,  28 
Theinred,  ^Elred,  303 
Theobald,  Archbishop,  187 
Theodore,  125 
'  Tlieoremata  Musica    Versibus  Expli- 

cata'  294 
Theorists,  First  English,  303 
Theory,  Early  writers  on  musical,  22  ; 

musical  grammar  and,  319 
Thomas  of  Kingsbury,  Master,  298 
Thor,  39,  46 


Thurstan,  Abbot,  176 
Time  characters,  283,  292,  298,  305 
Time,  musical,  304 
Time-table,  Invention  of  the,  150 
Tinctor,  205 
Tinctoris,  Johannes,  344 
Tiw,  39 

Tone  and  cadence,  Sacred,  47 
Tone,  Gregorian,  135,  175 
Tone-painting,  Colour  and,  323 
Tonic  or  key-note,  144 
1'orksey,  John.  291,  295,  297,  298,  307 
Torraine,  Duke  of,  241 
'  Tractatus  de  Musica,'  394 
Treble,  335 

Trevisa,  John,  378,  379 
Trokelowe,  241 
Trumpet,  115,  316,  335 
Trumpeter,  A  Roman,  13 
Tuba,  12 
Tune  :  of  the  Church,  66  ;  old  English 

dance,  373 
Tunes,  Oldest  Welsh,  26  ;  first  British, 

35  ;  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  36 
Tunes,  Traditional,  22 
Tunstead,  Simon,  291 
Turketal,  170 
Turner,  Sharon,  234 
Turold,  204 

Turpin,  Archbishop,  205 
Tutbury,  custom,  A,  246 ;  election,  253 
Tydain,  76 
Tye,  Christopher,  382 

U. 
Ugnach,  89 

'  Unbeniaerth  Prydain,'  91 
Urien,  87 
Uther,  40 

V. 
Venantius  Fortunatus,  14 
Vielle,  Jongleur  playing  a,  353 
Viol,  112,  113,  197,  317  ;  the  treble,  244 
Violin,  114 
Virgin  Mary,  337 
'  Vision  of  Piers  Plowman,'  341 
Vital ian  I.,  Pope,  125 
Vitigas  the  Goth,  King,  126 
Vocal  music,  29  ;  natural,  68 
Voice,  Human,  112 
Vortigern,  Prince,  81 

W. 

Wace,  9,  206 

'  Waits,'  Music  of  the,  197  ;  and  carol- 
singers,  modern,  197 

Walsingham,  Thomas,  149,  297,  299, 
soo,  307  ;  his  writings,  299 

Wandering  musicians  of  France  and 
Germany,  316 


396 


INDEX 


Wanley,  276 

Warkworth,  Hermit  of,  262 

Warwick,  Earl  of,  261 

Wastell,  William,  368 

Wayte,  33.5 

Weannouth  and  Jarrow,  Bishop,  56 

Weaver,  343 

Welsh  melodies,  17  ;  records,  the 
earliest,  21  ;  music,  26  ;  as  musicians, 
27 

Werintone,  Adam  de,  236 

Werstan,  Bishop  of  Sherborne,  164 

Wheatacre,  Richard,  236 

Whethamstede,  Abbot,  315  ;  organ  pre- 
sented by,  315 

William  I.,  174,  183,  198,  202,  203,  212, 
216  ;  picture  of,  175  ;  at  church,  175 

William  of  Fescampe,  176 

William  of  Malmesbury,  70,  127,  162, 
175,  183,  186 


William  of  Norhall,  64 
William  of  Wykeham,  336 
Winchelcomb  Church,  Opening  of,  111 
Winchester,  165  ;  Cathedral,  and  musi- 
cal growth  of  the  country,  184 
Woden,  39,  46 
Wulfstan,  128,  129,  134 
Wydewe,  Robert,  351 
Wylde,  John,  296 
Wynkyn  de  Worde,  378 

Y. 
'  Y  Brython  '  (The  Britons),  23 
'  Ymdawi  ad  v  Brenhin  '  ( The  Depar- 
ture of  the  King),  78 
'  Yr  H£n  Erddigan  '  (The  Ancient  Har- 
mony), 24 


Zithern,  317 


Z. 


THE  END. 


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